#Virtues and vices catholic free

And once we let one of these sins take over our lives, the other six are only too happy to creep into our lives as well. Most other sins like murder, for instance, begin with one or two of the seven deadly sins. The seven capital virtues are the virtues which overcome the seven deadly sins of lust, greed, gluttony, envy, anger, pride, and sloth. So if you haven’t told God that you love Him today, now is a great time to do so. If we do these two things, then charity toward everyone, even our enemies, becomes second nature to our wills. Jesus left us two commandments ‒ To love God with everything we have, and to love our neighbor as ourselves. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 13:13 that love is the greatest of the three theological virtues, even greater than faith. We know how it will all come out in the end, and it always helps to ask ourselves this question, “Where will I be in a hundred years?” And when we answer with “HEAVEN!” everything else seems rather small and insignificant, especially when we meditate on the Passion and what Jesus went through.Ĭharity ‒ The theological virtue of love for God over all other things for His sake, and our love of neighbor as ourselves. Hope is a virtue of the will, and it helps us to keep going in the face of adversity, mockery, and dry times. As Catholics, we hope in God’s good things that are currently unseen. Hope ‒The theological virtue that allows us totally to trust in Jesus and to desire eternal bliss in heaven with him, forever. One of the ways we know we have true faith is if we are very afraid of offending God in anything, and are very anxious to please Him in everything. It is written on our hearts, and all of our actions are the result of our faith. Faith manifests itself in how we handle our day-to-day lives, how we treat others, and in our Catholic devotions. We then know that He has revealed all truth in His Church, and we will not deviate one iota from the Church’s teaching on faith and salvation in our actions. He cannot be deceived, nor can he deceive us. Faith is an intellectual as well as a spiritual virtue, and if we are true to ourselves, we will always know that God is infallible. They are as follows:įaith ‒ The theological virtue that is “the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen,” our firm belief in God and all that He has revealed to us through Holy Mother Church. They are also called supernatural virtues. God pours these virtues into our very being through sanctifying grace, which we all know is obtained through the seven sacraments. To attain these virtues, it is necessary always to pray for them.

#Virtues and vices catholic free

The three theological virtues are straight out of the Bible, and can only be acquired as a free gift from God. We also exhibit fortitude when we keep on doing God’s will in the face of adversity, because we know that God is with us, and He will never let us down.

For example, it is very courageous to witness for Christ in the face of ridicule from secular humanists. Fasting is a great way to accomplish this virtue.įortitude ‒ This is the virtue that ensures firmness in difficulties and constancy in the pursuit of good.

We use temperance when we only eat and drink what is necessary for nourishment, and give up what is solely desired for pleasure. Temperance ‒ This is the virtue that moderates our desires in created things. Our neighbor is owed dignity, human rights, and everything for which he has worked and is rightly his. We should always keep foremost in our thoughts that God is rightly owed our obedience, our love, praise, honor, and worship.

Justice ‒ This is the virtue that declares that we give to God everything that is His, and to our neighbor his due. An example of prudence is to know how and when to speak up about an issue, and when to keep silent. Prudence ‒This is the virtue that we use when we discern true good in all things, and ascertain the right way to accomplish that good. These virtues may be attained through human effort, with the help of God. These four virtues are called cardinal because they are primary virtues, as all of the other virtues are grouped around them. But is there more to it than that? What exactly are some of the virtues which we should be trying to attain? Let’s examine some specific ones, namely, the cardinal virtues, the theological virtues, and the capital virtues. They think that there is but one virtue, tolerance. Many think that being virtuous equates to being a nice person and never offending anyone. A lot of people think that they are virtuous in this world, and some probably are.