Twenty-five hundred years ago Aristotle taught his students, and subsequently the rest of us, that we do not become people of virtue by reading a book on how to become virtuous. We become people of virtue by having virtuous people in our lives whose example we can emulate. On the vertical axis of life the Father sent his Son, Jesus the Christ. As an article of faith we hold that Jesus is God who became man and who concretely intersected with humanity at a specific time, in a particular place. True God and true man who is the ultimate example of a virtuous life. On the life’s horizontal axis we have all of humanity, including those who have already slipped their earthly bonds and have gone home to God. God’s revelation to us, including Christ’s example of how we should live our lives can be found in Sacred Scripture. In addition to all that is contained in Sacred Scripture we have access to the teachings of the Church, to those who have gone before us, and to one another.
Just as the God-head exists as a community, we too must be part of a community. It is safe to say that humans do not do well alone. We need people around us, people who love us and who care for us. It is in good relationships that we maximize our own potential. We draw strength from the positive examples of others. It is because of this that the true value of one’s faith-journey is not to be found upon at the destination. The true value is measured in the number of lives that you have positively touched enroute to your destination.