Grace Thompson
The Catholic Church identifies three categories of virtues: Cardinal Virtues, Theological Virtues, and Capital Virtues. The Cardinal Virtues are four moral virtues that form the foundation for the others: prudence, justice, temperance, and fortitude. The Theological Virtues are faith, hope, and charity, which are considered the most important characteristics in a Christian's life. The Capital Virtues, also known as the Lively Virtues, are those that stand in opposition to the seven deadly sins. They include virtues such as diligence, meekness, chastity, patience, and humility. These virtues guide Catholics in their daily lives and help them strive towards moral goodness and a closer relationship with God.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Cardinal Virtues | Prudence, Justice, Temperance, Fortitude |
| Theological Virtues | Faith, Hope, Charity |
| Capital Virtues | Chastity, Temperance, Charity, Diligence, Kindness, Patience, Humility |
| Other Virtues | Meekness, Courage, Endurance, Wisdom, Understanding, Knowledge, Counsel, Piety, Fear of the Lord |
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The seven heavenly virtues
- Chastity
- Temperance
- Charity
- Diligence
- Kindness
- Patience
- Humility
These virtues are believed to point a Christian toward God and away from a disposition to sin. Their cultivation is expected to result in good works, such as sheltering strangers, feeding the hungry, visiting the sick, ministering to the imprisoned, and burying the dead.
- Prudence
- Justice
- Temperance
- Fortitude
The three theological virtues are:
- Faith
- Hope
- Charity
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Cardinal virtues
The Catholic Church recognizes three categories of virtues: Cardinal Virtues, Theological Virtues, and Capital Virtues. The Cardinal Virtues are four moral virtues that form the foundation for the other virtues. The term "cardinal" comes from the Latin "cardo", which means "hinge".
The four Cardinal Virtues are:
- Prudence: the ability to distinguish between good and bad in a given situation and take appropriate action. St. Thomas Aquinas considered prudence to be the primary cardinal virtue.
- Justice: the virtue of giving God and one's fellow human beings what is rightfully theirs. This includes treating all people with dignity and respect, as they are made in the image and likeness of God.
- Fortitude: the virtue that enables one to conquer fear, even the fear of death, and to face trials and persecutions. It provides firmness in difficulties and constancy in the pursuit of good.
- Temperance: also known as restraint, this virtue involves self-control, abstenction, discretion, and moderation. It helps to moderate the attraction of pleasures and provides balance in the use of created goods.
These four Cardinal Virtues are fundamental in Catholic teaching and are believed to be acquired through practice and observation of wise individuals. They are seen as essential for leading a moral life and giving honor to God's will.
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Theological virtues
In the Catholic Church, there are three distinct categories of virtues: Cardinal Virtues, Theological Virtues, and Capital Virtues. The Cardinal Virtues are four moral virtues that form the foundation for the others. The word 'cardinal' comes from the Latin 'cardo', which means 'hinge', as these virtues are seen as the hinge upon which all other virtues rest.
The Theological Virtues are faith, hope, and charity (or love). These virtues are considered the most important characteristics in a Christian's life. They are called 'theological' because they are directed towards God and are only accessible to humans through God's assistance. They are considered the perfection of human powers, given by the grace of God.
Faith is an intellectual virtue, a firm belief in God and all that has been revealed through the Church. It manifests in how we live our daily lives and treat others. Hope is the virtue that allows us to trust in Jesus and to desire eternal life in heaven with him. Hope is commonly defined as a Divinely infused virtue, giving us unshaken confidence in attaining everlasting life.
Charity, or love, is the theological virtue that unites the soul to God. It is through charity that we love God for His intrinsic goodness and our neighbours for the sake of God. Charity is considered the greatest of the theological virtues, as it alone is compatible with perfect virtue. While faith and hope will cease with this life, charity will endure forever.
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Moral virtues
In the Catholic Church, there are three distinct categories of virtues: Cardinal Virtues, Theological Virtues, and Capital Virtues.
The four Cardinal Virtues are moral virtues that form the foundation for all other virtues. They are called "cardinal" from the Latin "cardo", meaning "hinge". According to St. Thomas Aquinas, prudence is the primary cardinal virtue as it is concerned with the intellect and the ability to distinguish between good and bad in any given situation. The other three cardinal virtues are justice, temperance, and fortitude. Justice helps us deal equitably with others, temperance helps us subdue our sensual appetites, and fortitude helps us persevere despite temptations to sin.
The other moral virtues include humility, patience, obedience, chastity, piety, and veracity. Humility helps overcome the sin of anger, patience is cultivated through meekness, and chastity is related to the restraint of desires for food, sex, pleasure, and drink.
Theological Virtues are considered to be inaccessible to humans without divine grace. They are called theological virtues because they are the most important characteristics in a Christian's life. The three theological virtues are faith, hope, and charity. Faith is an intellectual virtue, a firm belief in God and all that has been revealed through the Church. Hope allows Christians to trust in Jesus and desire eternal bliss in heaven. Charity, also referred to as love, is considered the greatest of these virtues.
The seven Capital Virtues, also known as lively virtues, are those that stand in opposition to the seven deadly sins. They include chastity, temperance, charity, diligence, kindness, patience, and humility.
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Meekness
In Christian teachings, there are seven heavenly virtues, which combine four cardinal virtues with three theological virtues. The four cardinal virtues are prudence, justice, temperance, and fortitude. The three theological virtues are faith, hope, and charity.
Jesus is the model of meekness. When he was confronted by an angry mob, he did not respond with anger but instead prayed for them. This is the example that Jesus set for his followers.
Saint Francis de Sales, renowned for his gentleness of spirit, advised:
> "Take care to practice well the humble meekness that you owe to everybody."
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