What does it mean Arete?

Arete (ἀρετή) is the ancient Greek word for "excellence" or "virtue." It's that quality we admire and desire deep in our hearts. We admire virtuosos, masters of their profession. Knowing that perfection they achieve goes beyond raw talent. We know that behind a beautiful painting, a timeless symphony or the precise movement of a Kung Fu master, there are hours, months or even years of persistent practice and sacrifice.

As Aristotle said, true virtue isn't something we're born with, but something we cultivate through persistent practice and sacrifice.

More than Arete

In Christianity, "arete" expands to encompass "holiness," a spiritual excellence rooted in our connection with the Christ. It's not just about personal perfection, but also community with God. Like classical virtue, it requires constant struggle and effort, but the ultimate goal isn't self-made greatness, but communion with the God.

"You shall be holy; for I the Lord your God am holy" (Lv 19, 2)

Holiness is an adventure that God invites us all on. I believe that this calling is the true source of the passion that can be found in the pursuit of holiness. The passion and determination that we admire so much in masters and virtuosos.

Sainthood is a grace given to all of us and we are all called to embrace it. However, as St. Thomas Aquinas put it, "grace builds upon nature", which means that sainthood takes our effort and determination. It requires daily struggles and nurturing a deep relationship with God, which is the source and purpose of sainthood.

We believe that in this crazy and digitalized world we live in, taking good care of our souls is increasingly important.

Why Arete7?

When we want to achieve success in some discipline, while being aware of our weaknesses and imperfections, we use all available tools to overcome obstacles on the way to our goal. We use the help of trainers, conduct research, and use specialized tools.

Arete7 is a novel tool designed to support you on this challenging journey toward sainthood. It is dedicated to helping you build self-discipline, continuously work on yourself, and rediscover sainthood as an exciting encounter with God, experienced with passion.

This adventure has already been passed by many people known to us as masters of spiritual life, blessed and saints. Remembering that our journey through life is unique and only we can pass it, we can benefit from the advices of saints and the centuries-old tradition of the Church. In this tradition, we will find many practices that are intended to help us grow every day.

Creating a digital assistant like Arete7 is also an expression of our hope that the beauty and richness of monastic life can be somehow shared with the busy, tech-savvy people of today.

How Arete7 works?

Arete7 consists of two main parts. The first focuses on action, i.e. regular practices.

The second one allows you to make notes about your journey, for watching progress and later retrospective.

In Arete7 we don't aim to create new content, but to present existing practices, some well-known, some perhaps forgotten.

Think of Arete7 as your personal spiritual coach, that will help you get started with new practices. Then it will remind you to stick with them, and companion you in completing them systematically. Finally, it will be your notebook that will help you monitor your progress and the impact of spiritual exercises on your life.

Who is Arete7 For

Not only for "cyborgs" who use the smartphone as the "third hemisphere" of the brain, and spend a lot of time in the digital world, full of systems that analyze your activity, and artificial intelligence is still learning how to draw your attention even better to what's "so important.”

For anyone who would like to have a coach in this digital world who will remind about another reality, the spiritual one, which also requires a lot of attention and exercises.

Where to start?

1. Install the app and complete tutorial.
2. Choose a practice to start with. If it's not on the list, you can add your own (it's as easy as adding an event to your calendar).
   We encourage you to take up practices known from tradition, but they can also be your own personal challenges, even as simple as giving a kissing to your husband/wife in the morning.
   Remember to set up reminders.
3. Select the events you want to monitor. Events, unlike practices, are something that comes form the "outside", something that we cannot fully control, such as well-being, headache, lack of sleep, etc.
   Events can also be a kind of examination of conscience or a mini diary.
4. Enjoy completing practices and watch your progress.
5. Follow Cyber-Monk blog, where we describe proposals for various practices that Arete7 can companion you.