Virtue enables you to know the good, do the good, and pursue the good in everything you think, say, and do—so that your every thought, word, and action becomes an echo of God’s will. One good choice does not make you virtuous—it makes for a good deed. But when you choose what is good and right again and again—until it becomes part of who you are—that is virtue. Virtue is goodness made habitual: good habits in the concrete. It is moral excellence solidified into the soul.

Vice, on the other hand, is just the opposite. A bad choice here or there does not make you vicious, but repeated negligence or willful wrongdoing hardens into habit. Eventually, your soul is shaped not by grace, but by disorder. Vice is sin made habitual: bad habits in the concrete. It is the distortion of your character—the slow unraveling of who you were made to be.

It’s been said, “You can outdistance that which is running after you, but not what is running inside you” (Rwandan Proverb). You can hide from others. You can disguise your actions. But you cannot outrun your own soul. Day by day, your habits are shaping you—either into the likeness of Christ or into something far from Him. You are becoming, right now, either a person of virtue or a person of vice.

So ask yourself: What habits are being etched into your soul? What patterns govern your thoughts, your speech, your reactions, your desires?

The path of virtue leads to fulfillment because it draws you into alignment with the God who made you. The path of vice leads to emptiness because it pulls you away from your very purpose—to glorify God in all you do. Vice says, “Follow your own way.” Virtue says, “Follow His.”

And so, to grow in virtue is to grow in Christ. His characteristics—humility, patience, self-control, courage, wisdom, love—become your own. This is not the work of a defining moment. It is a daily climb. But with each small victory, the soul is reordered, the path is made straighter, and you are drawn closer to the life God wills for you.

The choice is yours. Step by step, you are walking toward virtue—or away from it. And the soul you are becoming is not shaped by a single act, but by the habits you cultivate—day after day, choice after choice. “Don’t let your sins turn into bad habits” (St. Teresa of Avila).

Choose wisely. Choose virtue. For in choosing virtue, you are choosing the will of God—and in doing so, you will find the very thing your heart longs for: the fullness of life. There are many virtues to learn, and many vices to unlearn. But as your intellect grows in virtue, it lights the way for your will to follow and grace to flow—leading you to the peace of a clear conscience, and the joy of becoming who you were always meant to be.