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THE CARDINAL VIRTUES


The Cardinal Virtues are four moral virtues that are the foundation for the others.  Cardinal comes from the Latin “cardo”, which means “hinge.”   The Cardinal virtues can all be acquired through practice, and by observing others who are older and wiser than you are. All other virtues hinge on the following four Cardinal virtues:

Prudence:  St. Thomas Aquinas once said that prudence was the primary cardinal virtue, because it is concerned with the intellect.  Prudence is basically the ability to distinguish what is good and bad in any given situation, and to take appropriate action.   For instance, if you are in a big hurry on the freeway, and you know that you are in an area closely monitored by the police for speeding, it would not be prudent to go faster than the speed limit.

Justice: St. Thomas Aquinas ranked Justice as the second Cardinal Virtue, because it deals with the will.  Justice is the virtue that demands that we give everyone exactly what is due them. For instance, if the cashier gives you too much change back at the counter after a purchase, justice says that you must give back the extra money, if you know about it.  And since justice is concerned with rights, it is very important to remember that natural rights always come before legal rights, as in the right to life of babies.

Fortitude:  Another word for fortitude is courage.  In the Christian sense, fortitude is the virtue that allows us to overcome our fears and continue in our Christian tasks.  For instance, the 12 Apostles before Pentecost were hiding in fear of the Jews. After Pentecost, the Apostles boldly spoke out and were imprisoned for their outspoken beliefs in Christ.  So here we see that fortitude is not only an acquired virtue, but it is also one of the 4 Cardinal virtues that the Holy Spirit can give us, as well.

Temperance:  This virtue is one we all could use more of today. Temperance is concerned with the restraint and moderation of our desires for food, sex, pleasure, and drink.   Where prudence dictates our actions based on externals, temperance dictates our actions based on internals.  There is nothing wrong with sex in marriage, or food, or legitimate pleasure, or drink, of course, but when they start to own our will, instead of our will owning them, then we will experience the devil’s compensation of VD, unwanted pregnancy,  obesity, sloth, or hangovers.

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THE CAPITAL VIRTUES

The 7 Capital Virtues are the virtues which  overcome the 7 deadly sins of lust, greed, gluttony, envy, anger, pride, and sloth.  Most other sins like murder, for instance, begin with one or two of the seven deadly sins. And once we let one of these sins take over our lives, the other 6 are only too happy to creep into our lives as well.  By praying to obtain all 7 of the capital virtues, we can put a stop to satan and his plan to destroy our lives. The 7 capital virtues are:

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Generosity – Overcomes the sin of greed. This virtue can involve donating money, or giving up our free time and talents for the less fortunate, or even giving our possessions away.  It is a great way to detach ourselves from the things of this world, which is exactly what Jesus told the rich young man who asked him what else he must do to gain eternal life over and above keeping the 10 commandments.  Generosity is NOT philanthropy out of our surplus wealth or government welfare programs. Generosity involves our personal sacrifice, and it is indeed sacrificial to our way of life.  Remember the widow in the bible who gave her two pennies in the synagogue, and Jesus said that she gave more than the rest, who, even though they gave a larger amount, gave out of their surplus wealth.

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Brotherly love – Overcomes the sin of envy.  This virtue involves being genuinely happy at everyone’s success, even those who we don’t particularly like.  We know we have this virtue if we do not ever badmouth someone who has obtained something that we think we deserve.  One should acknowledge that it is God’s will that this particular series of events occurred in that person’s life and not ours, for a reason.  God could be blessing that person now, on earth, while He may have plans to give us burdens now, on earth, so that we will be blessed forever in heaven. Always desire the latter!

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Humility – Overcomes the sin of pride.  Humility is the virtue that recognizes our 100% reliance on God for all that we have, or ever will have. Everything on earth is on loan from God, including our good looks, our money, our house, etc. Those who think that they got all of these things on their own are in for a big surprise upon death.  The devil fools some of us into thinking that we got these things due to our hard work, or our talent, or whatever, when in fact, God gave them all to us.  Pride is the devil’s great sin, and he wants us all to think that we are gods too, like he does.  But by being humble, we beat him every time, because humility comes from the heart, and the devil does not have a heart. In Christianity, the bible says that the first shall be last, and the last shall be first. God humbles the proud and exalts the humble, says the bible, so get exalted!  Be humble!

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So, let today be the day that you start praying to acquire all of the virtues in abundance, and to lose all of the vices which you have in your life.  The reward for acquiring all of the virtues is truly, truly, out of this world!



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