Healthy Parish 2020 offers two classes related to developing healthy habits.  One of these, Temper Temptation, encourages the development of habits leading to the virtue of temperance.  Temperance is the virtue that helps us to control our appetites using the powers of reason and faith.

Our Catholic faith is animated by charity, nourished by good works, and perfected through the control of our senses.  As you live out the daily events of your lives, pay attention to your habits and reflect on how well your habits nourish your faith and promote your health.

Are you animated by charity in relationships with others, especially with your family members?  Do you make healthy eating and regular exercise a regular part of your family life?

Do you participate in church activities?  Do you contribute to the welfare of those who attend your church or who live in your parish?

Do you exercise temperance in your eating and drinking habits?  Do you eat and drink only what is necessary for health?  Do you drink to the point of intoxication?

Learning to develop healthy habits involves learning and practicing new skills.  Some of the tools contained in the Catholic Toolbox include your diet plan, your exercise routine, your Bible, your prayer book, and your regular examination of conscience.

“How to Be a Better Catholic” includes a daily spiritual game plan that includes the following:

- Get up at a fixed time, as early as possible. Eight hours of sleep should be enough. More than this or less than seven hours of sleep is usually not healthy.

- Work with order and intensity during the day as a way of serving God. Set goals and establish priorities in order to develop a practical schedule.

Healthy Parish 2020 would add to this:

- Engage in aerobic physical activity of at least moderate intensity for at lease 150 minutes per week.

- Determine your healthy weight and develop a nutritional plan that meets recommended daily allowances of calories, proteins, dairy products, fruits, and vegetables.

Sanctifying ordinary work is the goal of our life.

Have a blessed and temperate week and let’s do everything we can do to be the healthiest church and parish in St. Charles County!