Virtues

A virtue is a habitual and firm disposition to do the good. It allows the person not only to perform good acts, but to give the best of him. The virtuous person tends toward the good with all his sensory and spiritual powers; he pursues the good and chooses it in concrete actions.

Human virtues are firm attitudes, stable dispositions, and habitual perfections of intellect and will that govern our actions, order our passions, and guide our conduct according to reason and faith. They make possible ease, self-mastery, and joy in leading a morally good life. The virtuous man is he who freely practices the good.

The moral virtues are acquired by human effort. They are the fruit and seed of morally good acts; they dispose all the powers of the human being for communion with divine love.

In Catholic teachings there are two kinds of virtues, the Cardinal virtues and the Theological virtues.

The Cardinal Virtues are Prudence, Fortitude, Temperance, and Justice.

Prudence disposes the practical reason to discern, in every circumstance, our true good and to choose the right means for achieving it. It guides the other virtues by setting rule and measure. It is prudence that immediately guides the judgment of conscience. With the help of this virtue we apply moral principles to particular cases without error and overcome doubts about the good to achieve and the evil to avoid.

Justice consists in the firm and constant will to give God and neighbor their due. Justice toward God is called the "virtue of religion." Justice toward men disposes one to respect the rights of each and to establish in human relationships the harmony that promotes equity with regard to persons and to the common good.

Fortitude ensures firmness in difficulties and constancy in the pursuit of the good. It strengthens the resolve to resist temptations and to overcome obstacles in the moral life. The virtue of fortitude enables one to conquer fear, even fear of death, and to face trials and persecutions. It disposes one even to renounce and sacrifice his life in defense of a just cause.

Temperance moderates the attraction of the pleasures of the senses and provides balance in the use of created goods. It ensures the will's mastery over instincts and keeps desires within the limits of what is honorable. The temperate person directs the sensitive appetites toward what is good and maintains a healthy discretion.

The moral or Cardinal virtues grow through education, deliberate acts, and perseverance in struggle. Divine grace purifies and elevates them.

Aside from the Cardinal Virtues, there are also Theological Virtues. The theological virtues are the foundation of Christian moral activity; they animate it and give it its special character. They inform and give life to all the moral virtues. They are infused by God into the souls of the faithful to make them capable of acting as his children and of meriting eternal life. They are the pledge of the presence and action of the Holy Spirit in the faculties of the human being. There are three theological virtues: faith, hope, and charity.

By faith, we believe in God and believe all that he has revealed to us and that Holy Church proposes for our belief.

By hope we desire, and with steadfast trust await from God, eternal life and the graces to merit it.

By charity, we love God above all things and our neighbor as ourselves for love of God. Charity, the form of all the virtues, "binds everything together in perfect harmony"

The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit bestowed upon Christians are wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord.