The symbols of the three Theological Virtues are represented as well by the Cross of Carmague, also known as croix gardien or Cross of the Guardians. (2020, August 26). In loving our neighbor, we serve as a witness to our faith and demonstrate our love for God. Blessed Catholic Mom is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. The Seven Catholic Virtues - The Spiritual Life Youll find many places on the Internet that list virtues that are recognized in different cultures. Students from a variety of religious, spiritual, and career backgrounds are brought together and encouraged to deepen . Virtues are gifts from God that lead us to live in a close relationship with him. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. This view is shared byGregory of Nyssa. 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. Good Catholic Books to Read: Improve Your Prayer Life. The Theological Virtues of faith, hope, and love help us to keep our minds and hearts ordered to God and His plan for us to be in Heaven with Him. It is a perfection of the virtue of hope which caused the Saints to express sheer joy amidst their sufferings and it is what we are called to as well. They inform and give life to all the moral virtues. Moral Theology - The Theological Virtues - Sacred Heart Catholic Church Love is superior to all the virtues and it is the first of the Theological Virtues. In Christian tradition, the seven heavenly virtues combine the four cardinal virtues of prudence, justice, temperance, and fortitude with the three theological virtues of faith, hope, and charity.. In addition, Gods grace is offered to us to purify and strengthen our human virtues, for our growth in virtue can be hampered by the reality of sin. In short, ejaculatory prayer is a very practical and effective way to exercise theall-importanttheological virtues. Charity is the theological virtue by which we love God above all things for his own sake, and our neighbor as ourselves for love of God. (1822). He decides thathis go-to prayer of aspiration throughout the trip will be: OhSacred Heart of Jesus,whom I adore, help me to love Thee more and more. This prayer constitutes an exerciseof thetheological virtues. The three most important virtues are called theological virtues because they come from God and lead to God. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. By hope we desire, and with steadfast trust await from God, eternal life and the graces to merit it. Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features. Like the other three, it is a virtue that can be practiced by anyone; unlike the theological virtues, the cardinal virtues are not, in themselves, the gifts of God through grace but the outgrowth of habit.