Virtues are acquired good habits. There are numerous virtues; each affecting every aspect of life. St. Thomas Aquinas once famously said, "grace builds on nature". This means that God helps the soul, gives it grace, and makes it perfect. However, God's grace must be built on a good foundation. It is all well and good for God to offer us his grace, but if there person, in his nature, is corrupt and resistent to God the grace cannot sustain him to heaven. Christ must build on a good human foundation. This is acheived by the person developing virtue. Your task is to find out as much as much as possible about virtues: 1) What are virtues? 2) What are the key virtues? 3) What is the nature of the Cardinal Virtues? 4) How are virtues acquired? 5) How can virtues help a person to save his soul? 6) What would be important virtues that people need to know about today? These are only a few questions that might help you in your reading. These questions are good, but they are not sufficient to do good research. If you have any questions, or need clarification, ask your teacher. REMEMBER, KEEP A HANDWRITTEN JOURNAL FOR EVERY ARTICLE OR SITE YOU REVIEW, ALONG WITH A RECORD OF THE SITES YOU VISIT. YOUR HANDWRITTEN JOUNRAL SHOULD INCLUDE WEB ADDRESSES, TITLES OF ARTICLES, KEY WORDS, SUMMARIES OF WHAT YOU READ AND YOUR OWN REFLECTIONS. KEEP ALL THIS NEAT AND TIDY. Below are a number of sites that you may want to visit. Visit and read as many websites as possible to expand your knowledge. Think of various ways you can organize your material. Catholic Hip Hop and some excellent blogs: http://phatmass.com/ Catholic Culture: http://www.catholicculture.org/index.cfm Vatican: www.Vatican.va Catholic Educator's Research Center: http://www.catholiceducation.org/ Bible: www.biblegateway.com Cardinal Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI) Fan Club: http://www.ratzingerfanclub.com/ St. Thomas Aquians Forum: http://www.saintaquinas.com/ List of Religious beliefs of the History's Most Influential People - http://www.adherents.com/adh_influ.html Black Plague: http://health.discovery.com/centers/coldsflu/germs/plaguehist.html