Senior Theology Unit 2 Notes Virtues

What is a virtue? Write a definition in your own words Habitual and firm disposition to do the good CCC 1803

The Theological Virtues “ In short, there are three things that last: faith, hope and love, and the greatest of these is love” 1 Cor 13:13

The Theological Virtues FAITH, HOPE, AND LOVE We must believe in what God says, even when he’s silent We must encourage each other with hope that the Kingdom of God is real We must love each other as Jesus said: the same way we regard our own selves so fondly And we have to respect and love ourselves, or none of the others will come out of us

What’s a “ cardinal ” virtue? It has nothing to do with clergymen in red robes, with red birds, or with baseball players in St. Louis Those “cardinals” all come from the Latin word that means “clergyman” – cardinalis Cardinal as in “cardinal virtue” comes from the Latin word “cardo” which means hinge Your door won’t open or close without a cardo, and… Your humanity won’t work without cardinal virtues

Cardinal Virtues They are the “hinges” that allow our humanity to work and move at its best Without these virtues, our human dignity is frozen, stiff, useless, and won’t allow us to open up to anything useful to the rest of us Without use of the cardinal virtues, we’re locked into ourselves, like a house where all the doors are rusted shut

With Partner List the cardinal virtues, with an explanation/example of each.

Prudence Plain old good common sense Your ability to think and reason, calmed down, thinking ahead, and thinking clearly Prudence lets us make decisions based on their consequences for everybody, not just for ourselves

Justice Everybody gets this one: it means fairness But to most people, “justice” means “what’s fair for me” Justice, in its real, heroic sense, involves standing up for what’s fair, even if it doesn’t work out so well for you, even if it costs you, even if it hurts you

Fortitude It’s bravery, all right, but it’s a more everyday bravery Most of us will never have to put a grenade in our teeth and wipe out a house full of terrorists Most of WILL have to summon up the nerve to correct our own behavior, or tell our friends what they’re about to do is just stupid or dangerous ALL of us will have to be brave enough to meet illness and our eventual death

Temperance For some reason, in our culture that has come to mean “giving up EVERYTHING!!!” It’s not that – it just means judging for yourself a moderate approach to pleasures, not giving into everything we want just because we want it It also involves good common sense – not to indulge ourselves so much that we forget our own dignity

Virtues help shape our moral life-- Virtues are good habits Must be practiced over and over again

So you tell me… How does exercising the cardinal virtues connect to human dignity? What is human dignity? How does being temperate in using food or alcohol have anything in the world to do with human dignity? How does having fortitude have anything to do with human dignity?

With a partner, complete the worksheet