The Institute for Family Health and Well-Being
The Institute for Family Health and Well-being (IFHWB) was created in 2009 to encourage and support individuals, couples, and families to live lives that are fulfilling, enriching, and virtuous. The mission statement of IFHWB is "Helping you navigate the challenges of life and embrace the joy of living."
IFHWB is designed to help individuals, couples, families, and organizations align with living a virtuous life, which is a life consistent with the virtues identified by Aristotle and integrated into St. Paul's writings. The four cardinal virtues which are prudence, or practical wisdom; temperance, or self-control; fortitude, or courage; and justice, or doing the right and good thing.
Catholic families, Catholic Schools. and Catholic Homeschool families, are perfectly situated to live a virtuous life:
- they follow the sacraments;
- they are open to the guidance of the Catechism of the Catholic Church to guide them;
- they often send their children to Catholic schools or Homeschool their children from a Catholic perspective, making the sacrifices required to do so;
- they attend Mass on a weekly or daily basis, as well as participate in Adoration, Bible Studies, or other opportunities to grow in holiness.
Living a virtuous life is a decision - it does not happen by accident. Choosing to align their lives with the teachings of Jesus Christ, as well as the Teachings and Traditions of the Catholic Church, Catholic families, Catholic Schools, and Catholic Homeschool families are in a unique position to influence the culture in a positive, holy, and virtuous way. We are called to dialogue with the culture and to integrate our faith with the culture around us.
These concepts help you and your family live a virtuous life:
1.) Living a virtuous life helps us feel good about our decisions and actions every day.
2.) The virtuous life is our pathway to heaven.
3.) We must stand firmly for what you know is right and good.
4.) We must teach virtuous living to our children and adolescents through being a good role model and example of virtuous living.
5.) A virtuous family encourages the children and adolescents to make good, moral, ethical, virtuous decisions.
6.) The qualities of a virtuous father and mother consist of the cardinal and theological virtues, which are actively chosen each day. They become a habit and help form our character.
7.) A virtuous child or adolescent understands the importance of making the right and good decisions they face each day.
9.) A virtuous child or adolescent is growing in holiness and virtue each day, through the examples adults set for them.
10.) We must all help create a virtuous world!!
Don't forget to check out my Blog under the MORE tab!
Household Holiness: Family Blessings Moment by Moment: Becoming a Means of Christ's Presence in the World is a book for women to help them find the moments of grace within each day. The book has been written in a Discussion, Bible Study, or Retreat Format and asks each woman to participate at the level of her own comfort. It is designed to provide an opportunity for women to answer important questions about their own life and to share their responses with other women to the level they feel comfortable. The women may feel best just listening and not sharing a great deal. They may also feel that sharing their responses with others helps them become more virtuous and holy.
Household Holiness is designed to help women learn to live a virtuous life. The book has been submitted to a Catholic publisher and I am waiting to hear back from them. It received an Imprimatur and Nihil Obstat and was edited by the well-known, well-respected Catholic editor, Jeanette Fast Redmond.
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Integrating Catholic Thought Throughout the Curriculum (ICTTC) and Integrating Catholic Thought Throughout the Home (ICTTH):
Catholic School and Homeschool Curriculum!
Making good moral decisions is difficult for all people, but especially for our young people who are continually and constantly influenced by social media.
Integrating Catholic Thought Throughout the Curriculum (ICTTC) and
Integrating Catholic Thought Throughout the Home (ICTTH)
A Catholic School and Catholic Homeschool Curriculum
that provides schools and parents the concepts they need to teach four important aspects of virtue and virtuous living, holiness, conscience, and character to their children and adolescents. These concepts include: Catholic Identity, the Catholic Social Teachings, Critical Thinking Skills, and Life Leadership Skills.
Teachers and parents are the primary educators of children with regard to moral development. This program is designed to help teachers and parents understand and teach the concepts of moral and spiritual development to children and adolescents.
Through the use of my twenty years as a Catholic school teacher, as well as my ten-year career in marriage and family therapy, I provide clear and simple teaching instructions for teachers and parents to use in the Catholic School and Catholic Homeschool setting. These methods help teachers and parents teach present to their children and adolescents the importance of learning how to live the core concepts of our Catholic- faith in the everyday situations they face with friends, school mates, on their sports' teams, and in any other situation in which they are challenged to provide a living example of how to live a holy and virtuous life.
May God be your refuge and your strength today!
If you have questions, please contact me at 651-208-9829 or ksoucheray@ifhwb.com.
Thank you and God bless you all, Kate
I am available as a speaker for School Groups, Parent Groups, Homeschool Groups, Women's Groups, Cana Dinners, Retreats, and Evenings of Renewal.
Please see my podcast "Virtuous Living Made Simple," which is found on Spotify. You will also find my YouTube Channel at "Virtuous Living Made Simple." The Homework Sheets I created for my clients during my career as a therapist have become podcasts and YouTube videos to help listeners learn how to live the concepts of virtue: Prudence, Self-Control, Courage, and Justice in their everyday lives.