Lesson 2: The
Theological and
Cardinal Virtues
CFE 102
Moral life must be
considered not as a system of do’s
and don’ts or as a reaction to a set
of laws or commandments imposed
from the outside, but as a dynamic
process of becoming a person. A
person who acts as a human being
ought is virtuous.
He acts with reason; he is in
control; he directs his actions to
the best ends to achieve his
potential as a human being. A
person who is truly human directs
his actions by bringing into play
four cardinal virtues and three
theological virtues. Let us now look
Inspired Word of God
St. Paul’s letter to the
Colossians is theologically deep but
also very practical. It unpacks what
the Christian life (and marriage)
looks like on a daily basis—when
the rubber meets the road, so to
speak.
St. Paul was fighting growing
heresies that were erupting within
the church in Colossae. He sought
throughout the letter, and
specifically in this passage, to calm
growing tensions by reminding the
community that Christ is bigger
than the personal issues, agendas,
We see Christ constantly in
word, in sacrament, and in one
another! God’s presence, in Christ,
is right before us, veiled and
unveiled, if only we have the eyes
to see (Matthew 13:16; Luke 10:23-
24).
This passage is speaking to
the natural human tension that is
unleashed when we try to live what
we proclaim to believe. We fall. And
still, God is with us, calling us to do
better, to be more—to “be perfect”
(Matthew 5:48).
St. Paul is challenging the
burgeoning church in Colossae —
and us, as well—to think differently,
to “set [our] minds on things that
are above, not on things that are on
earth” (Colossians 3:2) and to “put
on Christ” (Galatians 3:27).
Church Teaching
Theological Virtues
We believe in God (faith). We
love God above all else, and all
things in God (charity or love). We
yearn for union with God,
experienced fully only in the next
life but tasted in this one (hope).
When one engages in such
activities well, one is said to have
these theological virtues. They are
obtained by grace and always
remain in the work of grace and we
perform them with God’s help.
1. Faith
Faith according to Aquinas is
the virtue whereby we assent to the
truths about God, truths that surpass
our reason. A person of faith does not
comprehend God, but he or she is
habitually disposed to accept certain
beliefs about God and to discern what
ought to be believed and what ought
not to be believed about God.
Faith inspires us to do all we
can in tandem, rather than apart from
God. Moreover, people of faith see the
world as blessed, see creation as a gift,
and see other persons as neighbors
they are called to love.
2. Hope
The virtue of hope focuses our
lives on God, but specifically on our
future happiness with God. Hope fixes
our attention on God so that as we
move through life we do not turn away
from God to lesser goods but
continually tend to God as our greatest
possible good.
At this point in time, we should
be hopeful and passionate in the
offering of prayer and service. Then by
our service, and by our love, the hope
of the Gospel – a hope that can counter
fear and isolation – will spread across
our land.
We must steadfastly cling to
God, confident that God accompanies
us and assists us, and will provide what
we need to reach the greatest
possibility for our lives. We must hope
and believe that in His perfect time,
the darkness brought about by the
pandemic today will soon vanish and a
brighter tomorrow is waiting for us.
3. Charity/Love
Charity or Love is the virtue
whereby we love God for His own sake
and a state whereby our desires are
uniformly ordered to God. Charity
directs everything we do, and thus
brings every other virtue to its utmost
possible perfection, so that all our
actions, no matter how small, have
supernatural bearings.
When we love, we act so that
others and ourselves might flourish.
The Christian virtue of love will be
central to our living in this crisis. If the
whole community is to flourish, we will
need to practice social distancing
seriously, and to observe the hygiene
practices mandated.
Thus, watching out for one
another will need to take news forms
this time. Each of these acts of love can
make a big difference as we dare to
bring God’s love to life in the world in
surprising and wonderful ways!
CARDINAL VIRTUES
Four virtues have been seen
as essential for moral life:
prudence, justice, fortitude, and
temperance. These are called the
cardinal virtues because every
other virtue can be seen as parts of
one of these four virtues and
because having the kind of life a
human being ought to have
1. PRUDENCE
Prudence is about knowing
how to make thoughtful and wise
decisions.
Josef Peiper defines it as “perfected
ability to make right decisions.”
A virtuous person wants to do
the good; however, actually achieving
the good in a particular situation
requires insight, thoughtfulness, a keen
assessment of circumstances, careful
deliberation and reflection, and a moral
imagination healthy enough to enable
us to judge different possibilities for
appropriate action.
Prudence aims to make
everything we do contribute to what we
take to be the ultimate good of our
lives. The immediate purpose of
prudence is to show us how to act today
in order to attain “the final good for the
whole of human life” (Peiper, 1990).3
2. JUSTICE
This virtue is the habit of
readiness which inclines one to give
others what is due to them (Maniwang,
2013). This helps us to live together
harmoniously when exercised with
respect to the rights of others. We
depend on and continuously benefit
from the care, generosity, and goodness
of others, just as they continually
Justice teaches us that the
wellbeing of individuals and
community are interrelated in such
a way that what promotes one
promotes the other, and what harms
one harms the other as well.
Justice also enables us to
assume our responsibilities and to
give others their due. It disposes
men to establish in human
relationships the harmony that
promotes equity with regard to
persons and to the common good
(Peiper, 1990).4
3. COURAGE
Fortitude or courage is a
virtue that strengthens us so that
we can overcome the fears,
difficulties, setbacks, and dangers
that challenge us in life and
sometimes can almost defeat us.
Without it, we will habitually
sacrifice the most important goods
Life, lacking courage, will
become a chronicle of regrets and
missed opportunities. One part of
courage that is very essential in this
situation is perseverance or patient
endurance.
Perseverance gives us the
resolution we need to stand firm in
our convictions when we are
tempted to betray or abandon them
because of fear or pressure, or
because we know being faithful to
them will be costly. It is the courage
we see in persons (front liners) who
are willing to die rather than betray
Although fear is a natural
feeling as the virus continues to
spread now, it should not control us.
We need to rightfully fear the things
that are fearful and take necessary
precautions without becoming
imprudent or reckless.
Let fearlessness be within us,
as the future is being written today,
let us write it all together with
bravery and unafraid hearts!
4. Temperance
Temperance is the knowledge
of how to balance and integrate the
various desires, appetites, and
attractions of life. Temperance is a
virtue that governs and directs our
desires. It does not fear or repress
the desires, passions, and hunger of
our lives, but it does order, and
It ensures the will’s mastery
over instincts and keeps desires
within the light of what is
honorable. Temperance is realizing
when enough is enough of any of
the worldly goods God has given us
(Peiper, 1990).6
Right now, practicing
temperance means taming or
calming our impulses against
excess and governing ourselves by
reason. Let self-control dominate
ourselves. Let’s not over-panic but
also let us not underestimate. Let us
not talk obsessively about the latest
statistics, but let us not avoid
Even when others are
rushing to empty the shelves of
supermarkets, canceling all
international travel, gossiping about
conspiracy theories, uncritically
sharing and liking every post in
their social media, let us practice
temperance and remain reasonable.
When we are inconvenienced
by what is happening today, let us
not be angry but temperate.
On the Necessity of
Building the Various
Virtues
We grow in the distinctive
potential and excellence of human
beings through the virtues, because
“Virtues in moral life refers to any
developed capacity of mind or will
to accomplish moral good.”(CCC
1803).
Virtue is usually explained in
terms of habits learned dispositions
to act in a particular way. (CFC 979)
According to Patrick McCormick
virtues are “those good moral
habits, affections, attitudes, and
beliefs that lead to genuine human
fulfilment, even perfection, on both
In moral life there is the crucial
difference between “simply
performing actions and actually
having a habit,” William Mattison
explains. “Habits are acquired
qualities of character. Habits form
us in two ways:
1. Habits form who we are. They give
us character, our unique and abiding
moral identity habits form who we are
because the more we endorse certain
attitudes, and feelings, and the more
often we act in certain ways, the more
deeply do those attitudes, feelings, and
actions become genuine characteristics
of ourselves.
2. Habits form what we do. This is
because our actions flow from and
express our character. Ways of acting
follow upon ways of being. Joseph Kotva
captures well the relationship between
our character and our action when he
says, ”In simplest terms, being
precedes doing, but doing shapes
being.
That is, who we have become,
including our states of character,
precedes and informs our choices and
actions. But our choices and actions
help shape who we are and thus our
future choices and actions.” (Mattison,
2008)
Thus, it is helpful to think of the
virtues not only as habits but also as
skills, especially skills that enable us to
achieve excellence in goodness in
whichever way it can best be done.
End of the topic!
Closing Prayer:
