Question: What Are the Three Theological Virtues?

Unlike the cardinal virtues, which can be practiced by anyone, the theological virtues are gifts of grace from God, and the ob ect of the virtues!what the practice of the virtue aims at!is God "imself# Answer: The three theological virtues are faith, hope, and charity $or love%# Stay up to date on the latest Catholicism news and learn more about the Catholic Faith. Sign up for our free Catholicism newsletter today! Catholicism by the Numbers FAQ Index

Question: What Are the Three Theological Virtues? Unlike the cardinal virtues, which can be practiced by anyone, the theological virtues are gifts of grace from God, and the ob ect of the virtues!what the practice of the virtue aims at!is God "imself# Answer: The three theological virtues are faith, hope, and charity $or love%# Stay up to date on the latest Catholicism news and learn more about the Catholic Faith. Sign up for our free Catholicism newsletter today! Catholicism by the Numbers FAQ Index

What Are the &our 'ardinal Virtues? What Are the (even (acraments of the 'atholic 'hurch? What Are the (even Gifts of the "oly (pirit? What Are the (even )eadly (ins? What Are the *ight +eatitudes? What Are the Twelve &ruits of the "oly (pirit?

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the cardinal virtues prudence ustice fortitude temperance

The cardinal virtues are the four principal moral virtues# The *nglish word cardinal comes from the 0atin word cardo, which means 1hinge#1 All other virtues hinge on these four2 prudence, ustice, fortitude, and temperance# .lato first discussed the cardinal virtues in the Republic, and they entered into 'hristian teaching by way of .lato3s disciple Aristotle# Unlike the theological virtues, which are the gifts of God through grace, the four cardinal virtues can be practiced by anyone4 thus, they represent the foundation of natural morality# 'lick on the name of each virtue below for a longer profile# #rudence (t# Thomas A5uinas ranked prudence as the first cardinal virtue, because it is concerned with the intellect# Aristotle defined prudence as recta ratio agibilium, 1right reason applied to practice#1 6t is the virtue that allows us to udge correctly what is right and what is wrong in any given situation# When we mistake the evil for the good, we are not e7ercising prudence!in fact, we are showing our lack of it# +ecause it is so easy to fall into error, prudence re5uires us to seek the counsel of others, particularly those we know to be sound udges of morality# )isregarding the advice or warnings of others whose udgment does not coincide with ours is a sign of imprudence# .rudence2 A 'ardinal Virtue

$ustice 8ustice, according to (aint Thomas, is the second cardinal virtue, because it is concerned with the will# As &r# 8ohn A# "ardon notes in his Modern Catholic Dictionary, it is 1the constant and permanent determination to give everyone his or her rightful due#1 We say that 1 ustice is blind,1 because it should not matter what we think of a particular person# 6f we owe him a debt, we must repay e7actly what we owe# 8ustice is connected to the idea of rights# While we often use ustice in a negative sense $1"e got what he deserved1%, ustice in its proper sense is positive# 6n ustice occurs when we as individuals or by law deprive someone of that which he is owed# 0egal rights can never outweigh natural ones# 8ustice2 A 'ardinal Virtue

Fortitude The third cardinal virtue, according to (t# Thomas A5uinas, is fortitude# While this virtue is commonly called courage, it is different from what much of what we think of as courage today# &ortitude allows us to overcome fear and to remain steady in our will in the face of obstacles, but it is always reasoned and reasonable4 the person e7ercising fortitude does not seek danger for danger3s sake# .rudence and ustice are the virtues through which we decide what needs to be done4 fortitude gives us the strength to do it# &ortitude is the only one of the cardinal virtues that is also a gift of the "oly (pirit, allowing us to rise above our natural fears in defense of the 'hristian faith# &ortitude2 A 'ardinal Virtue

Tem%erance Temperance, (aint Thomas declared, is the fourth and final cardinal virtue# While fortitude is concerned with the restraint of fear so that we can act, temperance is the restraint of our desires or passions# &ood, drink, and se7 are all necessary for our survival, individually and as a species4 yet a disordered desire for any of these goods can have disastrous conse5uences, physical and moral# Temperance is the virtue that attempts to keep us from e7cess, and, as such, re5uires the balancing of legitimate goods against our inordinate desire for them# 9ur legitimate use of such goods may be different at different times4 temperance is the 1golden mean1 that helps us determine how far we can act on our desires# Temperance2 A 'ardinal Virtue

More on the Virtues and Vices What Are the &our 'ardinal Virtues? What Are the Three Theological Virtues? What Are the (even )eadly (ins?