Finals: Virtues

• Virtue - the habit of performing excellent, noteworthy, and positive behaviors
• Prudence - the ability to make sound judgments about what is right or wrong based on reason and experience
• The four cardinal virtues are prudence, justice, fortitude, temperance.
• Temperance - the practice of self-control and moderation in all things
• Fortitude - the strength to face challenges bravely and persevere through difficult times
• Justice - the virtue that involves treating others fairly and with respect
• Virtue is derived from the word virtus which means "manliness"
• The 2 classifications of virtue: Cardinal and Theological
• Cardinal Virtues: Prudence, Justice, Fortitude, Temperance
• Prudence- knowledge of what is to be sought and what is to be avoided.
• Prudence- is the habit of practical reason that enables one to judge promptly on particular cases or contingent actions on what is to be done or omitted. 
•  The very basic foundation that can lead the human person to develop prudence is a good formation or education in the family.
• Prudence allows us to judge properly what is right or wrong, moral or immoral, beneficial or disadvantageous in any given situation.
• Fortitude is a virtue needed in pursuing the moral good, be it the common good or the private good.
• Two functions of fortitude or courage is Active Function and Passive Function.
• This function of fortitude impels the human person to attack or face evil, called active function.
• This function of fortitude strengthens the human person to bear difficulties and trials, called passive function.
• This function of fortitude involves doing something amid great challenges or difficulties in life, called active function.
• This function of fortitude makes the person value the virtue of just bearing or being patient with a very difficult circumstance in life if that is the only way to overcome it, called passive function
• Two values of passive function of fortitude are patience and perseverance.
• Patience is an attitude of waiting for the right way and the right time to act.
• Perseverance is the persistence in good work over a long period. 
• Temperance- is sometimes identified with moderation or control, is a moral virtue that regulates the desire for sensible pleasures within approved modes of social behavior.
• Temperance applies to the sensual aspect of the human person does not abuse the pleasures of the senses will lead to the deterioration of his/her physical health which later will also affect him/her psychologically.
• The virtue of temperance has the subordinate virtues of chastity, sobriety, and abstinence.
• Chastity or purity is a moral virtue ordering under reason the thoughts, desires, words, and actions connected with sexual pleasure.
• Sobriety is moderation in sensual pleasures and also the ability to control one’s passion, desire, and prejudices.
• Abstinence is restraining from a certain food or any pleasure if necessary. 
• Justice is defined as the habit or readiness which inclines one to give others what is due to them. The key phrase here is “giving what is due.
• The focal point of justice is respecting the dignity and worth of others.
• 3 Theological Virtues: Faith, Hope, Love
• Cardinal Virtues- these are virtues that are within the domain of human capacity developed with God’s inspiration.
• Theological Virtues- are virtues that go beyond human limits; they exceed the capacity of unaided human nature.
• Faith- is the theological virtue by which Christians believe in God. It firmly believes in all the truths God has revealed.
• Faith- is the substance of things to be hoped for, the evidence of things that are not seen.
• 3 Offenses against Faith: Pride, Distrust, Unbelief
• Pride- an offense against the faith when one lacks humility and obedience to the revealed truths about God. One may even think that he/she is greater than God.
• Distrust - the tendency to doubt the motives of others and to be suspicious of their actions. This offense of faith happens when a person has graved doubts and uncertainties about God’s mighty power. In a way, a person becomes too dependent on himself/herself and there is no room for God in his/her life.
• Unbelief- an offense of faith that refers to one’s denial and rejection of God’s presence in life. One example is atheism. Atheists are people who deny the existence of God.  
• Heresy -an offense of Christian faith that refers to the obstinate adherence to an error that contradicts the official teachings of the Church.