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{{Short description|Christian ethics}}
{{Catholic philosophy}}
{{Catholic philosophy}}
'''Theological virtues''' are [[virtue]]s associated in [[Christian theology]] and [[Christian philosophy|philosophy]] with [[Salvation in Christianity|salvation]] resulting from the [[Grace (Christianity)|grace]] of [[God in Christianity|God]].<ref name=Rziha/> Virtues are traits or qualities which dispose one to conduct oneself in a morally good manner. Traditionally they have been named [[Faith in Christianity|Faith]], [[Hope (virtue)|Hope]], and [[Charity (virtue)|Charity]] ([[Love]]), and can trace their importance in Christian theology to [[Paul the Apostle]] in [[1 Corinthians 13]], who also pointed out that “the greatest of these is love.” It is also the way to help other people to live up to what they wanna become.
'''Theological virtues''' are [[virtue]]s associated in [[Christian theology]] and [[Christian philosophy|philosophy]] with [[Salvation in Christianity|salvation]] resulting from the [[Grace (Christianity)|grace]] of [[God in Christianity|God]].<ref name=Rziha/> Virtues are traits or qualities which dispose one to conduct oneself in a morally good manner. Traditionally the theological virtues have been named [[Faith in Christianity|Faith]], [[Hope (virtue)|Hope]], and [[Charity (virtue)|Charity]] ([[Love]]). They are coupled with the natural or [[cardinal virtues]] and opposed to the [[seven deadly sins]].


The medieval Catholic philosopher [[Thomas Aquinas]] explained that these virtues are called theological virtues "because they have [[God]] for their object, both in so far as by them we are properly directed to Him, and because they are infused into our souls by God alone, as also, finally, because we come to know of them only by [[Divine revelation]] in the [[Sacred Scriptures]]".<ref name=Delany/>
The medieval Catholic philosopher [[Thomas Aquinas]] explained that these virtues are called theological virtues "first, because their object is God, inasmuch as they direct us aright to God: secondly, because they are infused in us by God alone: thirdly, because these virtues are not made known to us, save by Divine revelation, contained in Holy Writ".<ref name=Delany/>


==Moral theology ==
==Background==
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[[Image:VirtudesBraga.jpg|thumb|right|300px|The three Virtues in [[Bom Jesus do Monte|Bom Jesus]], [[Braga]] ]]


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===1 Corinthians 13===
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A person receives the theological virtues by their being "infused"—through [[Divine grace]]—into the person.<ref name=CatholicEncyclopedia>{{cite book|chapter-url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15472a.htm|title=Catholic Encyclopedia|chapter=Virtue|location=New York|publisher=Robert Appleton Company|date=1912|last=Waldron|first=M.A.|editor-last=Herbermann|editor-first=Charles}}</ref> The theological virtues are so named because their object is the divine being (theos).
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The first mention in Christian literature of the three theological virtues is in [[Paul the Apostle|St. Paul's]] first letter to the Thessalonians 1:3, "...calling to mind your work of faith and labor of love and endurance in hope..."<ref>{{Bibleverse|1 Thessalonians|1:3|nab}} and the associated [https://bible.usccb.org/bible/1thessalonians/1?3#60001003-1 note].</ref> In 1 Thessalonians 5:8, he refers to this triad of virtues again, "But since we are of the day, let us be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love and the helmet that is hope for salvation."<ref>{{Bibleverse|1 Thessalonians|5:8|nab}}.</ref>
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* ''Faith'' is the infused virtue, by which the intellect, by a movement of the will, assents to the supernatural truths of Revelation, not on the motive of intrinsic evidence, but on the sole ground of the infallible authority of God revealing.<ref name=catholic/> According to [[Hugh Pope]] "[W]hat God says is supremely credible, though not necessarily supremely intelligible for us."<ref name=Pope>[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05752c.htm Pope, Hugh. "Faith." The Catholic Encyclopedia] Vol. 5. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1909. 6 April 2017</ref> The [[First Vatican Council]] (III, iii;) stated that "faith is a supernatural virtue by which we with the inspiration and assistance of God's grace, believe those things to be true which He has revealed...although the assent of faith is in no sense blind, yet no one can assent to the Gospel teaching in the way necessary for salvation without the illumination of the Holy Spirit..."<ref name=Pope/> It is a gratuitous gift of God.
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* ''Hope'' is defined as a Divinely infused virtue, acts upon the will, by which one trusts, with confidence grounded on the Divine assistance, to attain life everlasting.<ref name=catholic/> Its opposite is the sin of despair.<ref name=Delany/>
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* ''Charity'' is a Divinely infused virtue, inclining the human will to cherish God for his own sake above all things, and man for the sake of God. To love God is to wish Him all honour and glory and every good, and to endeavour, as far as one can, to obtain it for Him. John 14:23 notes a unique feature of reciprocity which makes charity a veritable friendship of man with God. "Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him."<ref>[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09397a.htm Sollier, Joseph. "Love (Theological Virtue)." The Catholic Encyclopedia] Vol. 9. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 6 April 2017</ref> Lack of love may give place to [[hatred]], [[wrath]] or indifference.


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In [[1 Corinthians 13]], Paul places the greater emphasis on Charity (Love). "So faith, hope, love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love." First, because it informs the other two: "It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things." According to [[Augustine of Hippo]], from a temporal perspective, love lasts, while "Hope isn't hope if its object is seen," and faith gives way to possession.<ref name=kovacs>{{cite book | last=Kovacs | first=Judith L. | title=1 Corinthians | publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing | date=25 October 2005 | isbn=978-0-8028-2577-3 | page=227}}</ref> This view is shared by [[Gregory of Nyssa]].<ref name=kovacs/>
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==1 Corinthians 13==
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The first mention in Christian literature of the three theological virtues is in [[Paul the Apostle|St. Paul's]] first letter to the Thessalonians 1:3, "...calling to mind your work of faith and labor of love and endurance in hope..."<ref>[https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0839/__P10P.HTM NAB, 1 Thessalonians 1, n.2]</ref> In 1 Thessalonians 5:8, he refers to this triad of virtues again, "But since we are of the day, let us be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love and the helmet that is hope for salvation."<ref>[https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0839/__P10T.HTM NAB, 1 Thessalonians 5:8]</ref>


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===Aquinas===
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In [[1 Corinthians 13]], Paul places the greater emphasis on Charity (Love). "So faith, hope, love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love." First, because it informs the other two: "It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things." According to [[Augustine of Hippo]], from a temporal perspective, love lasts, while "Hope isn't hope if its object is seen", and faith gives way to possession.<ref name=kovacs>[https://books.google.com/books?id=msFOYyPMSeQC&pg=PA310&dq=1+corinthians+13&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwihrdOf_K_fAhVqmeAKHTHyA-o4ChDoAQhJMAc#v=onepage&q=1%20corinthians%2013&f=false ''1 Corinthians: Interpreted by Early Christian Medieval Commentators'', (Judith L. Kovacs, ed.), Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2005, p. 227]{{ISBN| 9780802825773}}</ref> This view is shared by [[Gregory of Nyssa]].<ref name=kovacs/>
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Aquinas found an interconnection of practical wisdom ({{lang|la|prudentia}}) and moral virtue (e.g. courage without prudence risks becoming mere foolhardiness). This is frequently termed "the Unity of the Virtues."<ref>{{cite book |last=Annas |first=Julia |title=The Morality of Happiness |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1993 |location=Oxford, England |pages=73–84 |language=en-uk}}</ref>


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Aquinas stated that theological virtues are so called "because they have God for their object, both in so far as by them we are properly directed to Him, and because they are infused into our souls by God alone, as also, finally, because we come to know of them only by Divine revelation in the Sacred Scriptures".<ref name="Delany">{{cite book |last=Thomas |first=Aquinas |title=Summa Theologica |publisher= |year= |volume= |location= |chapter=First part of the second part; Question 62; Article one; |chapter-url=https://www.documentacatholicaomnia.eu/03d/1225-1274,_Thomas_Aquinas,_Summa_Theologiae_%5B1%5D,_EN.pdf#page3243}}</ref>
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==Aquinas==
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Aquinas found an interconnection of practical wisdom (''prudentia'') and moral virtue (e.g. courage without prudence risks becoming mere foolhardiness). This is frequently termed "the Unity of the Virtues."<ref>Annas, Julia. ''The Morality of Happiness'' (Oxford; Oxford University Press, 1993), pp. 73-84</ref>

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Aquinas stated that theological virtues are so called "because they have God for their object, both in so far as by them we are properly directed to Him, and because they are infused into our souls by God alone, as also, finally, because we come to know of them only by Divine revelation in the Sacred Scriptures".<ref name=Delany>[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07465b.htm Delany, Joseph. "Hope." The Catholic Encyclopedia] Vol. 7. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 6 April 2017</ref>


In his treatment of the virtues, [[Aquinas]] viewed the theological virtues as being the product of habitual grace. According to Aquinas, this grace, through the theological virtues, allows humanity to become agents in meritorious action that is beyond their own natural ability. In this way it is supernatural.<ref name="Rziha">{{cite book|last1=Rziha|first1=John Michael|title=Perfecting Human Actions: St. Thomas Aquinas on Human Participation in Eternal Law|date=2009|publisher=CUA Press|isbn=9780813216720|pages=143–149|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-CBFQw8hz8sC|access-date=6 April 2017}}</ref>
In his treatment of the virtues, [[Aquinas]] viewed the theological virtues as being the product of habitual grace. According to Aquinas, this grace, through the theological virtues, allows humanity to become agents in meritorious action that is beyond their own natural ability. In this way it is supernatural.<ref name="Rziha">{{cite book|last1=Rziha|first1=John Michael|title=Perfecting Human Actions: St. Thomas Aquinas on Human Participation in Eternal Law|date=2009|publisher=CUA Press|isbn=9780813216720|pages=143–149|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-CBFQw8hz8sC|access-date=6 April 2017}}</ref>


Aquinas says "Faith has the character of a virtue, not because of the things it believes, for faith is of things that appear not, but because it adheres to the testimony of one in whom truth is infallibly found". (De Veritate, xiv, 8)<ref name=Pope/>
Aquinas says "Faith has the character of a virtue, not because of the things it believes, for faith is of things that appear not, but because it adheres to the testimony of one in whom truth is infallibly found".<ref>{{cite book |author=Aquinas |first=Thomas |title=De Veritate |year=1259 |at=xiv.8}}</ref><ref name=Pope/>


Aquinas further connected the theological virtues with the cardinal virtues. He views the supernatural inclinations of the theological virtues, caused by habitual grace, to find their fulfillment in being acted upon in the cardinal virtues.<ref name=Rziha/>
Aquinas further connected the theological virtues with the cardinal virtues. He views the supernatural inclinations of the theological virtues, caused by habitual grace, to find their fulfillment in being acted upon in the cardinal virtues.{{clarify|reason=what does it mean for a virtue to be acted upon in another virtue?|date=July 2023}}<ref name=Rziha/>

==Teaching by denomination==
===Catholic Church===
The [[Catechism of the Catholic Church]] teaches that faith, hope, and love (charity) "dispose Christians to live in a relationship with the Holy Trinity. They have God for their origin, their motive, and their object – God known by faith, hoped in, and loved for His own sake."<ref>{{Cite web | title=Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 1840|url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P68.HTM |access-date=2022-10-18|website=vatican.va|language=en}}</ref>

===Moravian Church===
Among essential beliefs, the [[Moravian Church]] teaches that "God creates; God redeems; God blesses. And we respond in faith, in love, and in hope." As such, Moravian Christians teach to judge themselves "by how deep our faith is, how expansive our love is, and how life affirming our hope is."<ref>{{cite web |title=In Essentials, Unity: Understanding the essential things |date=24 August 2018 |url=https://www.moravian.org/2018/08/in-essentials-unity-understanding-the-essential-things/ |publisher=[[Moravian Church]] |access-date=28 July 2021 |language=English}}</ref>

===Anglican Communion===
Churches of the Anglican Communion also follow Augustine and Aquinas. "Faith is a matter of knowledge of God which perfects the intellect... Hope is a matter of the perfection of the will... Love is a matter of perfection itself as love is the perfection of all powers."<ref name=episc/> [[Richard Hooker]] said regarding faith, that its "principal object is that eternal verity which hath discovered the treasures of hidden wisdom in Christ"; of hope that its "highest object is that everlasting goodness which in Christ doth quicken the dead"; of charity, that its "final object is that incomprehensible beauty which shineth in the countenance of Christ the Son of the Living God".<ref>{{cite book |last=Hooker |first=Richard |title=Of the Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity |year=1597 |at=I.xi}} as quoted in {{cite book |last=Kirk |first=Kenneth E. |title=Some Principles of Moral Theology |publisher=Longmans, Green and Co. Ltd. |year=1920 |location=London, England |at=[https://archive.org/details/principlesmoral00kirkuoft/page/42/mode/2up p.&nbsp;42, note 6] |language=en-uk}}{{PD-notice}}</ref>

==Moral theology ==
⚫
[[Image:VirtudesBraga.jpg|thumb|right|300px|The three Virtues in [[Bom Jesus do Monte|Bom Jesus]], [[Braga]] ]]


⚫
A person receives the theological virtues by their being "infused"—through [[Divine grace]]—into the person.<ref name=CatholicEncyclopedia>{{cite book|chapter-url=https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15472a.htm|title=Catholic Encyclopedia|chapter=Virtue|location=New York|publisher=Robert Appleton Company|date=1912|last=Waldron|first=M.A.|editor-last=Herbermann|editor-first=Charles}}</ref> The theological virtues are so named because their object is the divine being ({{transliteration|grc|theos}}).
Intellectuals have different opinions on linking wisdom too much practical wisdom or to wisdom that is accepted in society.Though scripture as well as Ecclesiastes states that some wisdom in particular of the poor can be despised [Ecclesiastes 9:16]. Wisdom is not always heard and does not always win in institutions and group think. This can by simple common sense create a great injustice to shame the messages of wisdom that is not heard to assume wisdom is heard more than it is. Though this gives hope for the wisdom and knowledge that society has rejected and continues to reject in its steps towards making progress in the future.
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* ''Faith'' is the infused virtue, by which the intellect, by a movement of the will, assents to the supernatural truths of Revelation, not on the motive of intrinsic evidence, but on the sole ground of the infallible authority of God revealing.<ref name=catholic/> According to [[Hugh Pope]] "[W]hat God says is supremely credible, though not necessarily supremely intelligible for us."<ref name=Pope>{{cite book|chapter-url=https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05752c.htm|last=Pope|first=Hugh|chapter=Faith|title=The Catholic Encyclopedia|volume=5|location=New York|publisher=Robert Appleton Company|year=1909}}</ref> The [[First Vatican Council]] (III, iii;) stated that "faith is a supernatural virtue by which we with the inspiration and assistance of God's grace, believe those things to be true which He has revealed... although the assent of faith is in no sense blind, yet no one can assent to the Gospel teaching in the way necessary for salvation without the illumination of the Holy Spirit..."<ref name=Pope/> It is a gratuitous gift of God.
⚫
* ''Hope'' is defined as a Divinely infused virtue, which acts upon the will, by which one trusts, with confidence grounded on the Divine assistance, to attain life everlasting.<ref name=catholic/> Its opposite is the sin of despair.<ref name=Delany/>
⚫
* ''Charity'' is a Divinely infused virtue, inclining the human will to cherish God for his own sake above all things, and man for the sake of God. To love God is to wish Him all honour and glory and every good, and to endeavour, as far as one can, to obtain it for Him. {{Bibleverse|John|14:23}} notes a unique feature of reciprocity that makes charity a veritable friendship of man with God. "Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him."<ref>{{cite book|chapter-url=https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09397a.htm|last=Sollier|first=Joseph|chapter=Love (Theological Virtue)|title=The Catholic Encyclopedia|volume=9|location=New York|publisher=Robert Appleton Company|year=1910}}</ref> Lack of love may give place to [[hatred]], [[wrath]], or indifference.


==Comparison of Cardinal and Theological Virtues==
==Comparison of cardinal and theological virtues==
The moral virtues are acquired by practice and habit. Catholic moral theology holds that the theological virtues differ from the [[cardinal virtues]] in that they cannot be obtained by human effort, but are infused by God into a person. Like the cardinal virtues, an individual who exercises these virtues strengthens and increases them, i.e., they are more disposed to practice them.<ref name=Drefcinski/>
The moral virtues are acquired by practice and habit. Catholic moral theology holds that the theological virtues differ from the [[cardinal virtues]] in that they cannot be obtained by human effort, but are infused by God into a person. The Episcopal Church shares this view. "As distinct from the cardinal virtues which we can develop, the theological virtues are the perfection of human powers given by the grace of God."<ref name=episc>{{cite web| url=https://www.episcopalchurch.org/glossary/theological-virtues/| title=Theological Virtues| website=An Episcopal Dictionary of the Church}}</ref> Like the cardinal virtues, an individual who exercises these virtues strengthens and increases them, i.e., they are more disposed to practice them.<ref name=Drefcinski/>


Following [[Augustine of Hippo|St. Augustine]], Aquinas also recognized a separate but related type of moral virtue which is also infused by God. The distinction lies both in their source and end. The moral virtue of temperance recognizes food as a good that sustains life, but guards against the sin of [[gluttony]]. The ''infused'' virtue of temperance disposes the individual to practice fasting and abstinence. The infused moral virtues are connected to the theological virtue of Charity.<ref name=Drefcinski>[http://people.uwplatt.edu/~drefcins/233AquinasVirtues.html Drefcinski, Shane. "A Very Short Primer on St. Thomas Aquinas’ Account of the Various Virtues", University of Wisconsin–Platteville]</ref><ref name=catholic>{{catholic|title=Virtue|url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15472a.htm|year=1912|last=Waldron|first=M.A.|inline=1}}</ref>
Following [[Augustine of Hippo|Augustine]], Aquinas also recognized a separate but related type of moral virtue which is also infused by God. The distinction lies both in their source and end. The moral virtue of temperance recognizes food as a good that sustains life, but guards against the sin of [[gluttony]]. The ''infused'' virtue of temperance disposes the individual to practice fasting and abstinence. The infused moral virtues are connected to the theological virtue of Charity.<ref name=Drefcinski>{{cite web| url=http://people.uwplatt.edu/~drefcins/233AquinasVirtues.html| last=Drefcinski| first=Shane |title=A Very Short Primer on St. Thomas Aquinas' Account of the Various Virtues |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210621000904/http://people.uwplatt.edu/~drefcins/233AquinasVirtues.html|archive-date=2021-06-21|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=catholic>{{catholic|title=Virtue|url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15472a.htm|year=1912|last=Waldron|first=M.A.|inline=1}}</ref>


[[Pope Benedict XVI]] wrote three encyclicals about the theological virtues: ''[[Deus caritas est]]'' (about love), ''[[Spe salvi]]'' (about hope), and ''[[Lumen fidei]]'' (about faith: this encyclical was written both by Pope Benedict XVI and by [[Pope Francis]]).<ref name="LS">{{cite news | url = http://vaticaninsider.lastampa.it/en/the-vatican/detail/articolo/enciclica-papa-el-papa-pope-lumen-fidei-26222/ | title = The light of faith: origin, history and horizon of the christianism |newspaper = [[La Stampa]] | location = Turin | first = Alessandro | last = Speciale | date = 4 July 2013 | access-date = 19 October 2013}}</ref>
[[Pope Benedict XVI]] wrote three encyclicals about the theological virtues: ''[[Deus caritas est]]'' (about love), ''[[Spe salvi]]'' (about hope), and ''[[Lumen fidei]]'' (about faith: this encyclical was written both by Pope Benedict XVI and by [[Pope Francis]]).<ref name="LS">{{cite news | url = http://vaticaninsider.lastampa.it/en/the-vatican/detail/articolo/enciclica-papa-el-papa-pope-lumen-fidei-26222/ | title = The light of faith: origin, history and horizon of the christianism |newspaper = [[La Stampa]] | location = Turin | first = Alessandro | last = Speciale | date = 4 July 2013 | access-date = 19 October 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150211181603/http://vaticaninsider.lastampa.it/en/the-vatican/detail/articolo/enciclica-papa-el-papa-pope-lumen-fidei-26222/ | archive-date=2015-02-11|url-status=dead}}</ref>


==See also==
==See also==
* {{annotated link|[[Christian ethics]]}}
* [[Cardinal virtues]]
* [[Seven deadly sins]] (cardinal sins)
* {{annotated link|[[Seven deadly sins]]}}
* [[Seven virtues]]
* {{annotated link|[[Seven virtues]]}}
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* [[Christian ethics]]


== References ==
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Reflist}}


== Further reading ==
==Further reading==
* ''Paradise Restored: The Social Ethics of Francis of Assisi, A Commentary on Francis's "Salutation of the Virtues"'', by Jan Hoebrichts, Franciscan Institute Publications, 2004. {{ISBN|978-0-8199-1008-0}}.
* {{cite book | last=Hoeberichts | first=Jan | title=Paradise Restored: The Social Ethics of Francis of Assisi, A Commentary on Francis's "Salutation of the Virtues" | publisher=Franciscan Press | date=2003 | isbn=978-0-8199-1008-0}}
*{{cite book |chapter=[[s:A_manual_of_moral_theology_for_English-speaking_countries/Book_5|Book 5: On the Theological Virtues]] |title=A manual of moral theology for English-speaking countries |year=1925 |publisher=Burns Oates & Washbourne Limited |first=Thomas |last=Slater}}


==External links==
==External links==
{{commons|First Epistle to the Corinthians}}
{{commons|First Epistle to the Corinthians}}{{catholic philosophy footer}}
* [https://www.vatican.va/archive/catechism/p3s1c1a7.htm The Virtues] - Catechism of the Catholic Church
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090106191829/http://deadlysins.com/virtues.html Contrary, Heavenly, and Cardinal Virtues]
{{catholic philosophy footer}}
{{Christian virtue ethics}}
{{Christian virtue ethics}}
{{Christianity footer}}
{{Christianity footer}}
{{Virtues}}
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Revision as of 21:44, 21 March 2024

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Theological virtues are virtues associated in Christian theology and philosophy with salvation resulting from the grace of God.[1] Virtues are traits or qualities which dispose one to conduct oneself in a morally good manner. Traditionally the theological virtues have been named Faith, Hope, and Charity (Love). They are coupled with the natural or cardinal virtues and opposed to the seven deadly sins.

The medieval Catholic philosopher Thomas Aquinas explained that these virtues are called theological virtues "first, because their object is God, inasmuch as they direct us aright to God: secondly, because they are infused in us by God alone: thirdly, because these virtues are not made known to us, save by Divine revelation, contained in Holy Writ".[2]

Background

1 Corinthians 13

The first mention in Christian literature of the three theological virtues is in St. Paul's first letter to the Thessalonians 1:3, "...calling to mind your work of faith and labor of love and endurance in hope..."[3] In 1 Thessalonians 5:8, he refers to this triad of virtues again, "But since we are of the day, let us be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love and the helmet that is hope for salvation."[4]

In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul places the greater emphasis on Charity (Love). "So faith, hope, love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love." First, because it informs the other two: "It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things." According to Augustine of Hippo, from a temporal perspective, love lasts, while "Hope isn't hope if its object is seen," and faith gives way to possession.[5] This view is shared by Gregory of Nyssa.[5]

Aquinas

Aquinas found an interconnection of practical wisdom (prudentia) and moral virtue (e.g. courage without prudence risks becoming mere foolhardiness). This is frequently termed "the Unity of the Virtues."[6]

Aquinas stated that theological virtues are so called "because they have God for their object, both in so far as by them we are properly directed to Him, and because they are infused into our souls by God alone, as also, finally, because we come to know of them only by Divine revelation in the Sacred Scriptures".[2]

In his treatment of the virtues, Aquinas viewed the theological virtues as being the product of habitual grace. According to Aquinas, this grace, through the theological virtues, allows humanity to become agents in meritorious action that is beyond their own natural ability. In this way it is supernatural.[1]

Aquinas says "Faith has the character of a virtue, not because of the things it believes, for faith is of things that appear not, but because it adheres to the testimony of one in whom truth is infallibly found".[7][8]

Aquinas further connected the theological virtues with the cardinal virtues. He views the supernatural inclinations of the theological virtues, caused by habitual grace, to find their fulfillment in being acted upon in the cardinal virtues.[clarification needed][1]

Teaching by denomination

Catholic Church

The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that faith, hope, and love (charity) "dispose Christians to live in a relationship with the Holy Trinity. They have God for their origin, their motive, and their object – God known by faith, hoped in, and loved for His own sake."[9]

Moravian Church

Among essential beliefs, the Moravian Church teaches that "God creates; God redeems; God blesses. And we respond in faith, in love, and in hope." As such, Moravian Christians teach to judge themselves "by how deep our faith is, how expansive our love is, and how life affirming our hope is."[10]

Anglican Communion

Churches of the Anglican Communion also follow Augustine and Aquinas. "Faith is a matter of knowledge of God which perfects the intellect... Hope is a matter of the perfection of the will... Love is a matter of perfection itself as love is the perfection of all powers."[11] Richard Hooker said regarding faith, that its "principal object is that eternal verity which hath discovered the treasures of hidden wisdom in Christ"; of hope that its "highest object is that everlasting goodness which in Christ doth quicken the dead"; of charity, that its "final object is that incomprehensible beauty which shineth in the countenance of Christ the Son of the Living God".[12]

Moral theology

The three Virtues in Bom Jesus, Braga

A person receives the theological virtues by their being "infused"—through Divine grace—into the person.[13] The theological virtues are so named because their object is the divine being (theos).

  • Faith is the infused virtue, by which the intellect, by a movement of the will, assents to the supernatural truths of Revelation, not on the motive of intrinsic evidence, but on the sole ground of the infallible authority of God revealing.[14] According to Hugh Pope "[W]hat God says is supremely credible, though not necessarily supremely intelligible for us."[8] The First Vatican Council (III, iii;) stated that "faith is a supernatural virtue by which we with the inspiration and assistance of God's grace, believe those things to be true which He has revealed... although the assent of faith is in no sense blind, yet no one can assent to the Gospel teaching in the way necessary for salvation without the illumination of the Holy Spirit..."[8] It is a gratuitous gift of God.
  • Hope is defined as a Divinely infused virtue, which acts upon the will, by which one trusts, with confidence grounded on the Divine assistance, to attain life everlasting.[14] Its opposite is the sin of despair.[2]
  • Charity is a Divinely infused virtue, inclining the human will to cherish God for his own sake above all things, and man for the sake of God. To love God is to wish Him all honour and glory and every good, and to endeavour, as far as one can, to obtain it for Him. John 14:23 notes a unique feature of reciprocity that makes charity a veritable friendship of man with God. "Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him."[15] Lack of love may give place to hatred, wrath, or indifference.

Comparison of cardinal and theological virtues

The moral virtues are acquired by practice and habit. Catholic moral theology holds that the theological virtues differ from the cardinal virtues in that they cannot be obtained by human effort, but are infused by God into a person. The Episcopal Church shares this view. "As distinct from the cardinal virtues which we can develop, the theological virtues are the perfection of human powers given by the grace of God."[11] Like the cardinal virtues, an individual who exercises these virtues strengthens and increases them, i.e., they are more disposed to practice them.[16]

Following Augustine, Aquinas also recognized a separate but related type of moral virtue which is also infused by God. The distinction lies both in their source and end. The moral virtue of temperance recognizes food as a good that sustains life, but guards against the sin of gluttony. The infused virtue of temperance disposes the individual to practice fasting and abstinence. The infused moral virtues are connected to the theological virtue of Charity.[16][14]

Pope Benedict XVI wrote three encyclicals about the theological virtues: Deus caritas est (about love), Spe salvi (about hope), and Lumen fidei (about faith: this encyclical was written both by Pope Benedict XVI and by Pope Francis).[17]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Rziha, John Michael (2009). Perfecting Human Actions: St. Thomas Aquinas on Human Participation in Eternal Law. CUA Press. pp. 143–149. ISBN 9780813216720. Retrieved 6 April 2017.
  2. ^ a b c Thomas, Aquinas. "First part of the second part; Question 62; Article one;" (PDF). Summa Theologica.
  3. ^ 1 Thessalonians 1:3 and the associated note.
  4. ^ 1 Thessalonians 5:8.
  5. ^ a b Kovacs, Judith L. (25 October 2005). 1 Corinthians. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. p. 227. ISBN 978-0-8028-2577-3.
  6. ^ Annas, Julia (1993). The Morality of Happiness. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. pp. 73–84.
  7. ^ Aquinas, Thomas (1259). De Veritate. xiv.8.
  8. ^ a b c Pope, Hugh (1909). "Faith". The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 5. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  9. ^ "Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 1840". vatican.va. Retrieved 2022-10-18.
  10. ^ "In Essentials, Unity: Understanding the essential things". Moravian Church. 24 August 2018. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  11. ^ a b "Theological Virtues". An Episcopal Dictionary of the Church.
  12. ^ Hooker, Richard (1597). Of the Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity. I.xi. as quoted in Kirk, Kenneth E. (1920). Some Principles of Moral Theology. London, England: Longmans, Green and Co. Ltd. p. 42, note 6.Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  13. ^ Waldron, M.A. (1912). "Virtue". In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  14. ^ a b c  One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Waldron, M.A. (1912). "Virtue". In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  15. ^ Sollier, Joseph (1910). "Love (Theological Virtue)". The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 9. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  16. ^ a b Drefcinski, Shane. "A Very Short Primer on St. Thomas Aquinas' Account of the Various Virtues". Archived from the original on 2021-06-21.
  17. ^ Speciale, Alessandro (4 July 2013). "The light of faith: origin, history and horizon of the christianism". La Stampa. Turin. Archived from the original on 2015-02-11. Retrieved 19 October 2013.

Further reading

  • Hoeberichts, Jan (2003). Paradise Restored: The Social Ethics of Francis of Assisi, A Commentary on Francis's "Salutation of the Virtues". Franciscan Press. ISBN 978-0-8199-1008-0.
  • Slater, Thomas (1925). "Book 5: On the Theological Virtues" . A manual of moral theology for English-speaking countries. Burns Oates & Washbourne Limited.

External links

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