The Theological Virtues

This post was originally shared on my Instagram in May of 2020. It is the sixth of nine posts in the Virtue Series.

I read once that when we get to Heaven, we will no longer need the theological virtues of faith or hope, because we will be participating in the Beatific Vision, but that the greatest virtue, caritas, will be perfected. I don’t want to die anytime soon, Lord, but man, I canNOT wait to see what that looks like.

I’m so, so grateful to all of you who participated in the discussion on the cardinal virtues, and I’m really looking forward to digging into faith, hope, and love this week. But for today: a definition.

What are the THEOLOGICAL VIRTUES? There are three of them: FAITH, HOPE, and CHARITY .

“The human virtues are rooted in the theological virtues, which adapt man's faculties for participation in the divine nature: for the theological virtues relate directly to God. They dispose Christians to live in a relationship with the Holy Trinity. They have the One and Triune God for their origin, motive, and object. The theological virtues are the foundation of Christian moral activity; they animate it and give it its special character. They inform and give life to all the moral virtues. They are infused by God into the souls of the faithful to make them capable of acting as his children and of meriting eternal life. They are the pledge of the presence and action of the Holy Spirit in the faculties of the human being.” -CCC 1812-1813