12 Virtues

Saint John Baptist de la Salle, the founder of the Lasallian Christian Brothers, was a pioneer in the field of Catholic education and teacher formation.  He once listed the 12 virtues of a good teacher which are:

1. Gravity (seriousness)
2. Silence
3. Humility
4. Prudence
5. Wisdom
6. Paitence
7. Reserve
8. Gentleness
9. Zeal
10. Vigiliance
11. Piety
12. Generosity

Earlier this year, Mrs. Trachim of our Math Department began organizing weekly faculty breakfasts on Mondays before school and I thought it would be nice to follow her lead and have a weekly faculty prayer service on Fridays.  That way, we begin and end our weeks together as a faculty.  I decided to devote the first 12 prayer services to the 12 virtues.  The prayer services are very brief - 10 minutes - and follow the same format every week:

1. Opening song
2. Praying/reading passages from scripture, writings, or quotes that relate to the virtue of that week
3. A reading from a book of reflections by Catholic school teachers
4. Intentions
5. The Teacher's Prayer by Saint John Baptist de la Salle

I enjoy preparing these and look forward to them every week.  Hopefully it's a nice way for us a faculty to have the opportunity to pray together and to reflect upon our common vocation as Catholic school teachers.

Speaking of which, I came across this video today.  It is a good reminder of why we do what we do: