Dipping into the Catechism 42 379-390

CARDINAL VIRTUES
What are the principal human virtues?
The principal human virtues are called Cardinal virtues, under which all the other virtues are grouped and which are the hinges of a virtuous life. The 4 cardinal virtues are:
prudence, justice, fortitude and temperance.
What is Prudence?
Prudence disposes reason to discern in every circumstance our true good and to choose the
right means for achieving it. Prudence guides the other virtues by pointing out their rule and
measure.
What is Justice?
Justice consists in the firm and constant will to give to others their due. Justice towards God
is called “the virtue of religion”.
What is Fortitude?
Fortitude assures firmness in difficulties and constancy in the pursuit of the good. It reaches
even to the ability of possibly sacrificing one’s own life for a just cause.
What is Temperance?
Temperance moderates the attraction of pleasures, assures the mastery of the will over
instincts and provides balance in the use of created goods.
THEOLOGICAL VIRTUES
What are the theological virtues?
The Theological Virtues are faith, hope and charity.
What is the virtue of Faith?
Faith is the theological virtue by which we believe in God and all that He has revealed to us
and that the Church proposes for our belief because God is Truth itself. By faith the human
person freely commits himself to God. Therefore, the believer seeks to know and do the will
of God because “faith works through charity” (Galatians 5:6).
What is hope?
Hope is the theological virtue by which we desire and await from God eternal life as our
happiness, placing our trust in Christ’s promises and relying on the Grace of the Holy Spirit
to lead us into the meriting of it and to help us to persevere to the end of our earthly life.
What is Charity?
Charity is the theological virtue by which we love God above all things and our neighbour as
ourselves for the love of God. Jesus makes charity the new commandment, the fullness of
the law. “It is the bond of perfection” (Colossians 3:14).
What are the gifts of the Holy Spirit?
The gifts of the Holy Spirit are permanent dispositions which make us docile in following divine inspirations. They are
seven: Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel,
Fortitude, Knowledge, Piety and Fear of the Lord.
What are the fruits of the Holy Spirit?
The fruits of the Holy Spirit are perfections formed in us as the first fruits of eternal glory. The tradition of the Church lists twelve of them: Charity, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Generosity, Gentleness,
Faithfulness, Modesty, Self-control, and Chastity (Galatians 5:22-23, from the Vulgate (latin)
Translation).