St. Thomas says that the four cardinal virtues are so named because of their generality and importance in the life of moral action. They consist of prudence, justice, fortitude and temperance.
The Moral Action of the Four Cardinal Virtues
According to The Catholic Dictionary, by William Addis and Thomas Arnold M.A., “Prudence enables us to know what to desire or avoid; justice gives everyone his due; fortitude urges us on when difficulty stands in the way of our duty; temperance restrains us when passion excites us to what is wrong.”
All moral virtues can be found under one of the headings of the four cardinal virtues. Religion is placed under justice because it is, in essence, giving God His due. Chastity, on the other hand, is placed under temperance because it restrains the interior and exterior expression of the passions.
The cardinal virtues are sometimes referred to as the acquired moral virtues and were thus defined because they can exist in a soul regardless of the actions of grace. With grace, spirituality and religion absent, a person can have these virtues simply by the nature of choice and of being human.
Acquired and Infused Virtues
In Catholic Theology, however, these cardinal virtues are sub-classed under two headings; acquired and infused.
According to The Three Ages of the Interior Life, by Father Reginald Garrigou Lagrange, “The acquired moral virtues, as their name indicates, are acquired by the repetition of acts under the direction of more or less cultivated reason. The infused moral virtues are called infused because God alone can produce them in us.”
The Catechism of the Catholic Church lays out and defines Christian Morality in depth under the section entitled ‘Life in Christ.’ It states that the morality of actions chosen by human beings depend upon three circumstances; the object chosen, the end in view or intention of the action and finally the circumstances surrounding the action.
Catholicism teaches that the moral law is written on the heart of every man, and every human being has within him an internal barometer or knowledge of that which is good and evil. Beyond this, it is the obligation of every Catholic Christian to form a good conscience by learning the teachings of the Magisterium of the Church which is so well outlined in the Catechism for the modern day.
The Three Theological Virtues of Faith, Hope and Charity are included in the Moral Theology of the Catholic Church. Whether a sin is Venial or Mortal is also defined by The Catechism of the Catholic Church. Moral Theology is expanded upon in great depth in the works of Dogmatic Theology.
Sources:
- A Catholic Dictionary, by William E. Addis and Thomas Arnold, M.A.
- Catechism of the Catholic Church.
- The Three Ages of the Interior Life, by Reverend Reginald Garrigou Lagrange.
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