Created by Chris Carmody: jesusinsalem@yahoo.com and Stephanie Rangel: beverlyyouthministry@gmail.

com

Year Faith
of
2012-2013

17 March 2013

THE FOUR CARDINAL VIRTUES

The Theological Virtues Faith, Hope and Love are gifts from God! However, there are also other virtues that we, with Gods help, work to develop within ourselves. There are many virtues, but the four main ones are the Cardinal Virtues Prudence, Temperance, Justice and Fortitude. Hopefully someone has already told you this, but being a faithful Christian and being a fully human person takes a lot of work! Really! Unfortunately, doing the right thing does not come naturally or easy to us. The theological word for this is concupiscence, which means that we are now inclined to sin. We may want to do the right thing, but that doesnt mean that we do the right thing. Take for example getting up in the morning. We want to be at work on time, but laziness makes it difficult to get out of bed; we know we should eat a healthy breakfast, but either we dont have time or a donut sounds so much better! In order to overcome concupiscence we need to grow in virtue. God infuses us with the theological virtues, but we must work hard to develop them. Here are some helpful hints to grow in virtue: 1. Do it!! The first step in growing in virtue, or making any habit, is to simply start. If you want to be honest, start telling the truth; if you want to be generous, then give something away. If our goal is to be virtuous, we have to start sometime - why not now? 2. Be courageous!! Aim high, and expect that you can be virtuous. Dont underestimate yourself. God made us to be amazing, and we shouldnt expect less of ourselves then He does. We often think that things are too difficult and give up before we even get started. 3. Allow for mistakes!! On the road to virtue we will stumble and fall. This does not mean that we failed. Failure is when you stop trying. When you make a mistake, admit it, go to Confession if you need to, learn from it and keep trying. Remember, we are on the road to perfection, but we are not there yet. 4. Seek help!! You will find it extremely difficult, if not impossible, to grow in virtue on your own. It is best if your family can work to grow in virtue with you, but if that is not possible right now, then find support from someone else a priest, co-worker, or friend. The journey is much easier when we have someone walking with us. 5. Pray!! The best person to seek help from is God! We work to develop the Cardinal Virtues within us, but He is there to help. Dont leave Him out!
If riches are desirable in life, what is richer than Wisdom, who produces all things? And if prudence is at work, who in the world is a better artisan than she? Or if one loves righteousness, whose works are virtues, She teaches moderation and prudence, righteousness and fortitude, and nothing in life is more useful than these. Wisdom 8:5-7

Four virtues play a pivotal role and accordingly are called cardinal; all the others are grouped around them. They are: prudence, justice, fortitude and temperance. CCC 1805
To live well is nothing other than to love God with all ones heart, with all ones soul, and with all ones efforts; from this it comes about that love is kept whole and unc or rupted (through temperance). No misfortune can disturb it (and this is fortitude). It obeys only God (and this is justice), and is careful in discerning things, so as not to be surprised by deceit or trickery (and this is prudence). - St. Augustine

CHALLENGE
The book of Wisdom tells us that moderation and prudence, righteousness and fortitudenothing in life is more useful than these. (Wisdom 8:7) Do you know what each of the Cardinal Virtues are?
This week, look them up in the Catechism and read about them. Here is where they can be found: Prudence (1806) Justice (1807) Fortitude (1808) Temperance (1809)