305 THE SUPERNATURAL VIRTUES

YOUCAT Lesson 305

YOUCAT the catechism for Catholic youth

305  What are the three supernatural virtues?

The supernatural virtues are faith, hope, and charity.  They are called “supernatural” because they have their foundation in God, are directly related to God, and are for us men the way by which we can reach God directly.  [1812-1813, 1840]

Photo: …..The old abbey church at Saint John’s University, Collegeville, MN.   In large gold letters arched over the sanctuary were these words (in Latin) “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.”  I would read them again and again.  They remain words central to my faith. …..305

1812-1813, 1840

II. THE THEOLOGICAL VIRTUES

…….1812   The human virtues are rooted in the theological virtues, which adapt man's faculties for participation in the divine nature(Compare 2 Pet 1:4.)⁷⁶ 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. --Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition

…….1813   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. There are three theological virtues: faith, hope, and charity.( Compare 1 Cor 13:13.)⁷⁷ –CCC

IN BRIEF

…….1840 The theological virtues dispose Christians to live in a relationship with the Holy Trinity. They have God for their origin, their motive, and their object - God known by faith, God hoped in and loved for his own sake. --CCC