The Cardinal Virtues

07-12-2026Pastor's LetterFather Wilson

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Last week, I presented a brief teaching on the theological virtues of faith, hope, and charity— because they “inform all the moral virtues and give life to them.” (CCC,1841)

The Church teaches that these virtues are not merely human motivation. They are “infused by God into the souls of the faithful,” so that we can act as God’s children and “merit eternal life.” (CCC,1813)

And among the theological virtues, charity stands highest. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states: “If I have not charity,” says the Apostle, “I am nothing.” Whatever my privilege, service, or even virtue, “if I…have not charity, I gain nothing.” Charity is superior to all the virtues. It is the first of the theological virtues: “So faith, hope, charity abide, these three. But the greatest of these is charity.” (CCC, 1826)

This helps us understand the cardinal virtues— prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance—not as isolated habits of “being good,” but as virtues that come alive when they are animated by faith, hope, and charity. The word cardinal comes from the Latin cardo, which means pivot. The cardinal virtues are “hinges” upon which good moral decisions depend.

• Prudence is “the virtue that disposes practical reason to discern our true good in every circumstance and to choose the right means of achieving it.”
• Justice is “the moral virtue that consists in the constant and firm will to give their due to God and neighbor.”
• Fortitude is “the moral virtue that ensures firmness in difficulties and constancy in the pursuit of the good.”
• Temperance is “the moral virtue that moderates the attraction of pleasures and provides balance in the use of created goods.” (CCC, 1806-1809)
• Our Gospel for today contains the parable of the Sower and the seed. I’m quite sure that we would all hope to be the good soil, “the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.” (Matt 13:23)
• May the Holy Spirit grant us faith to see, hope to endure, and charity to love and guide us to cultivate the cardinal virtues in our lives to produce fruit for the kingdom.

All the best in Christ.