"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." 103 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." 104

The Law of the Gospel fulfills the commandments of the Law. the Lord's Sermon on the Mount, far from abolishing or devaluing the moral prescriptions of the Old Law, releases their hidden potential and has new demands arise from them: it reveals their entire divine and human truth. It does not add new external precepts, but proceeds to reform the heart, the root of human acts, where man chooses between the pure and the impure, 22 where Faith, hope, and charity are formed and with them the other Virtues. the Gospel thus brings the Law to its fullness through imitation of the perfection of the heavenly Father, through forgiveness of enemies and prayer for persecutors, in emulation of the divine generosity. 23

To the Lord's Sermon on the Mount it is fitting to add the moral catechesis of the apostolic teachings, such as Romans 12-15, 1 Corinthians 12-13, Colossians 3-4, Ephesians 4-5, etc. This doctrine hands on the Lord's teaching with the Authority of the apostles, particularly in the presentation of the Virtues that flow from Faith in Christ and are animated by charity, the principal gift of the Holy Spirit. "Let charity be genuine.... Love one another with brotherly affection.... Rejoice in your hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints, practice hospitality." 29 This catechesis also teaches us to deal with cases of conscience in the light of our relationship to Christ and to the Church. 30

The term "merit" refers in general to the recompense owed by a community or a society for the action of one of its members, experienced either as beneficial or harmful, deserving reward or punishment. Merit is relative to the Virtue of Justice, in conformity with the principle of equality which governs it.

The Magisterium of the Pastors of the Church in moral matters is ordinarily exercised in catechesis and preaching, with the help of the works of theologians and spiritual authors. Thus from generation to generation, under the aegis and vigilance of the pastors, the "deposit" of Christian moral teaching has been handed on, a deposit composed of a characteristic body of rules, commandments, and Virtues proceeding from Faith in Christ and animated by charity. Alongside the Creed and the Our Father, the basis for this catechesis has traditionally been the Decalogue which sets out the principles of moral life valid for all men.

The theological Virtues of Faith, hope, and charity inform and give life to the moral virtues. Thus charity leads us to render to God what we as creatures owe him in all Justice. the virtue of religion disposes us to have this attitude.

Adoration is the first act of the Virtue of religion. To adore God is to acknowledge him as God, as the Creator and Savior, the Lord and Master of everything that exists, as infinite and merciful Love. "You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve," says Jesus, citing Deuteronomy. 13

"A vow is a deliberate and free promise made to God concerning a possible and better good which must be fulfilled by reaSon of the Virtue of religion," 21 A vow is an act of devotion in which the Christian dedicates himself to God or promises him some good work. By fulfilling his vows he renders to God what has been promised and consecrated to Him. the Acts of the Apostles shows us St. Paul concerned to fulfill the vows he had made. 22

The first commandment forbids honoring Gods other than the one Lord who has revealed himself to his people. It proscribes superstition and irreligion. Superstition in some sense represents a perverse excess of religion; irreligion is the vice contrary by defect to the Virtue of religion.

All practices of magic or sorcery, by which one attempts to tame occult powers, so as to place them at one's service and have a supernatural power over others - even if this were for the sake of restoring their health - are gravely contrary to the Virtue of religion. These practices are even more to be condemned when accompanied by the intention of harming someone, or when they have recourse to the intervention of demons. Wearing charms is also reprehensible. Spiritism often implies divination or magical practices; the Church for her part warns the Faithful against it. Recourse to so-called traditional cures does not justify either the invocation of evil powers or the exploitation of another's credulity.

The Virtue of solidarity goes beyond material Goods. In spreading the spiritual goods of the Faith, the Church has promoted, and often opened new paths for, the development of temporal goods as well. and so throughout the centuries has the Lord's saying been verified: "Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well": 47

"Human society can be neither well-ordered nor prosperous unless it has some people invested with legitimate Authority to preserve its institutions and to devote themselves as far as is necessary to work and care for the good of all." 15 By "authority" one means the quality by Virtue of which perSons or institutions make laws and give orders to men and expect obedience from them.

The practice of all the Virtues is animated and inspired by charity, which "binds everything together in perfect harmony"; 105 it is the form of the virtues; it articulates and orders them among themselves; it is the source and the goal of their Christian practice. Charity upholds and purifies our human ability to love, and raises it to the supernatural perfection of divine love.

The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit are wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord. They belong in their fullness to Christ, Son of David. 109 They complete and perfect the Virtues of those who receive them. They make the Faithful docile in readily obeying divine inspirations.

Sins can be distinguished according to their objects, as can every human act; or according to the Virtues they oppose, by excess or defect; or according to the commandments they violate. They can also be classed according to whether they concern God, neighbor, or oneself; they can be divided into spiritual and carnal sins, or again as sins in thought, word, deed, or omission. the root of sin is in the heart of man, in his free will, according to the teaching of the Lord: "For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a man." 128 But in the heart also resides charity, the source of the good and pure works, which sin wounds.

Venial sin weakens charity; it manifests a disordered affection for created Goods; it impedes the soul's progress in the exercise of the Virtues and the practice of the moral good; it merits temporal punishment. Deliberate and unrepented venial sin disposes us little by little to commit mortal sin. However venial sin does not set us in direct opposition to the will and friendship of God; it does not break the covenant with God. With God's Grace it is humanly reparable. "Venial sin does not deprive the sinner of sanctifying grace, friendship with God, charity, and consequently eternal happiness." 134

Vices can be classified according to the Virtues they oppose, or also be linked to the capital sins which Christian experience has distinguished, following St. John Cassian and St. Gregory the Great. They are called "capital" because they engender other sins, other vices. 138 They are pride, avarice, envy, wrath, lust, gluttony, and sloth or acedia.

Since it rejects or denies the existence of God, atheism is a sin against the Virtue of religion. 61 The imputability of this offense can be significantly diminished in virtue of the intentions and the circumstances. "Believers can have more than a little to do with the rise of atheism. To the extent that they are careless about their instruction in the Faith, or present its teaching falsely, or even fail in their religious, moral, or social life, they must be said to conceal rather than to reveal the true nature of God and of religion." 62

In economic matters, respect for human dignity requires the practice of the Virtue of temperance, so as to moderate attachment to this world's Goods; the practice of the virtue of Justice, to preserve our neighbor's rights and render him what is his due; and the practice of solidarity, in accordance with the golden rule and in keeping with the generosity of the Lord, who "though he was rich, yet for your sake . . . became poor so that by his poverty, you might become rich." 189

In Virtue of commutative Justice, reparation for injustice committed requires the restitution of stolen Goods to their owner:

Truth as uprightness in human action and speech is called truthfulness, sincerity, or candor. Truth or truthfulness is the Virtue which consists in showing oneself true in deeds and truthful in words, and in guarding against duplicity, dissimulation, and hypocrisy.

"Men could not live with one another if there were not mutual confidence that they were being truthful to one another." 262 The Virtue of truth gives another his just due. Truthfulness keeps to the just mean between what ought to be expressed and what ought to be kept secret: it entails honesty and discretion. In Justice, "as a matter of honor, one man owes it to another to manifest the truth." 263

Detraction and calumny destroy the reputation and honor of one's neighbor. Honor is the social witness given to human dignity, and everyone enjoys a natural right to the honor of his name and reputation and to respect. Thus, detraction and calumny offend against the Virtues of Justice and charity.

The gravity of a lie is measured against the nature of the truth it deforms, the circumstances, the intentions of the one who lies, and the harm suffered by its victims. If a lie in itself only constitutes a venial sin, it becomes mortal when it does grave injury to the Virtues of Justice and charity.

Since it violates the Virtue of truthfulness, a lie does real violence to another. It affects his ability to know, which is a condition of every judgment and decision. It contains the seed of discord and all consequent evils. Lying is destructive of society; it undermines trust among men and tears apart the fabric of social relationships.

Baptism confers on its recipient the Grace of purification from all sins. But the baptized must continue to struggle against concupiscence of the flesh and disordered desires. With God's grace he will prevail - by the Virtue and gift of Chastity, for chastity lets us love with upright and undivided heart; - by purity of intention which consists in seeking the true end of man: with simplicity of vision, the baptized perSon seeks to find and to fulfill God's will in everything; 312 - by purity of vision, external and internal; by discipline of feelings and imagination; by refusing all complicity in impure thoughts that incline us to turn aside from the path of God's commandments: "Appearance arouses yearning in fools"; 313 - by prayer:

Jesus fulfilled the work of the Father completely; his prayer, like his sacrifice, extends until the end of time. the prayer of this hour fills the end-times and carries them toward their consummation. Jesus, the Son to whom the Father has given all things, has given himself wholly back to the Father, yet expresses himself with a sovereign freedom 46 by Virtue of the power the Father has given him over all flesh. the Son, who made himself Servant, is Lord, the Pantocrator. Our high priest who prays for us is also the one who prays in us and the God who hears our prayer.

Homosexual perSons are called to Chastity. By the Virtues of self-mastery that teach them inner freedom, at times by the support of disinterested friendship, by prayer and sacramental Grace, they can and should gradually and resolutely approach Christian perfection.

The Virtue of Chastity blossoms in friendship. It shows the disciple how to follow and imitate him who has chosen us as his friends, 133 who has given himself totally to us and allows us to participate in his divine estate. Chastity is a promise of immortality. Chastity is expressed notably in friendship with one's neighbor. Whether it develops between perSons of the same or opposite sex, friendship represents a great good for all. It leads to spiritual communion.

Charity is the form of all the Virtues. Under its influence, Chastity appears as a school of the gift of the perSon. Self-mastery is ordered to the gift of self. Chastity leads him who practices it to become a witness to his neighbor of God's fidelity and loving kindness.

The second commandment prescribes respect for the Lord's name. Like the first commandment, it belongs to the Virtue of religion and more particularly it governs our use of speech in sacred matters.

Respect for his name is an expression of the respect owed to the mystery of God himself and to the whole sacred reality it evokes. the sense of the sacred is part of the Virtue of religion:

The sacrament of Baptism is conferred "in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." 85 In Baptism, the Lord's name sanctifies man, and the Christian receives his name in the Church. This can be the name of a saint, that is, of a disciple who has lived a life of exemplary fidelity to the Lord. the patron saint provides a model of charity; we are assured of his intercession. the "baptismal name" can also express a Christian mystery or Christian Virtue. "Parents, sponsors, and the pastor are to see that a name is not given which is foreign to Christian sentiment." 86

Parents have the first responsibility for the education of their children. They bear witness to this responsibility first by creating a home where tenderness, forgiveness, respect, fidelity, and disinterested service are the rule. the home is well suited for education in the Virtues. This requires an apprenticeship in self-denial, sound judgment, and self-mastery - the preconditions of all true freedom. Parents should teach their children to subordinate the "material and instinctual dimensions to interior and spiritual ones." 31 Parents have a grave responsibility to give good example to their children. By knowing how to acknowledge their own failings to their children, parents will be better able to guide and correct them:

Scandal is an attitude or behavior which leads another to do evil. the perSon who gives scandal becomes his neighbor's tempter. He damages Virtue and integrity; he may even draw his brother into spiritual death. Scandal is a grave offense if by deed or omission another is deliberately led into a grave offense.

The Virtue of temperance disposes us to avoid every kind of excess: the abuse of food, alcohol, tobacco, or medicine. Those incur grave guilt who, by drunkenness or a love of speed, endanger their own and others' safety on the road, at sea, or in the air.

Chastity means the successful integration of sexuality within the perSon and thus the inner unity of man in his bodily and spiritual being. Sexuality, in which man's belonging to the bodily and biological world is expressed, becomes personal and truly human when it is integrated into the relationship of one person to another, in the complete and lifelong mutual gift of a man and a woman. The Virtue of chastity therefore involves the integrity of the person and the integrality of the gift.

Whoever wants to remain Faithful to his baptismal promises and resist temptations will want to adopt the means for doing so: self-knowledge, practice of an ascesis adapted to the situations that confront him, obedience to God's commandments, exercise of the moral Virtues, and fidelity to prayer. "Indeed it is through Chastity that we are gathered together and led back to the unity from which we were fragmented into multiplicity." 127

The Virtue of Chastity comes under the cardinal virtue of temperance, which seeks to permeate the passions and appetites of the senses with reaSon.

Chastity is a moral Virtue. It is also a gift from God, a Grace, a fruit of spiritual effort. 131 The Holy Spirit enables one whom the water of Baptism has regenerated to imitate the purity of Christ. 132

"Our" bread is the "one" loaf for the "many." In the Beatitudes "poverty" is the Virtue of sharing: it calls us to communicate and share both material and spiritual Goods, not by coercion but out of love, so that the abundance of some may remedy the needs of others. 120

When St. Peter confessed that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, Jesus declared to him that this revelation did not come "from flesh and blood", but from "my Father who is in heaven". 24 Faith is a gift of God, a supernatural Virtue infused by him. "Before this faith can be exercised, man must have the Grace of God to move and assist him; he must have the interior helps of the Holy Spirit, who moves the heart and converts it to God, who opens the eyes of the mind and 'makes it easy for all to accept and believe the truth.'" 25

Christ will raise us up "on the last day"; but it is also true that, in a certain way, we have already risen with Christ. For, by Virtue of the Holy Spirit, Christian life is already now on earth a participation in the death and Resurrection of Christ:

This is the meaning of the Church's affirmation 49 that the sacraments act ex opere operato (literally: "by the very fact of the action's being performed"), i.e., by Virtue of the saving work of Christ, accomplished once for all. It follows that "the sacrament is not wrought by the righteousness of either the celebrant or the recipient, but by the power of God." 50 From the moment that a sacrament is celebrated in accordance with the intention of the Church, the power of Christ and his Spirit acts in and through it, independently of the perSonal holiness of the minister. Nevertheless, the fruits of the sacraments also depend on the disposition of the one who receives them.

The catechumenate, or formation of catechumens, aims at bringing their conversion and Faith to maturity, in response to the divine initiative and in union with an ecclesial community. the catechumenate is to be "a formation in the whole Christian life . . . during which the disciples will be joined to Christ their teacher. the catechumens should be properly initiated into the mystery of salvation and the practice of the evangelical Virtues, and they should be introduced into the life of faith, liturgy, and charity of the People of God by successive sacred rites." 47

The Most Holy Trinity gives the baptized sanctifying Grace, the grace of justification: - enabling them to believe in God, to hope in him, and to love him through the theological Virtues; - giving them the power to live and act under the prompting of the Holy Spirit through the gifts of the Holy Spirit; - allowing them to grow in goodness through the moral virtues. Thus the whole organism of the Christian's supernatural life has its roots in Baptism.

Only God forgives sins. 39 Since he is the Son of God, Jesus says of himself, "The Son of man has Authority on earth to forgive sins" and exercises this divine power: "Your sins are forgiven." 40 Further, by Virtue of his divine authority he gives this power to men to exercise in his name. 41

Since Christ entrusted to his apostles the ministry of reconciliation, 65 Bishops who are their successors, and priests, the bishops' collaborators, continue to exercise this ministry. Indeed bishops and priests, by Virtue of the sacrament of Holy Orders, have the power to forgive all sins "in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit."

An indulgence is obtained through the Church who, by Virtue of the power of binding and loosing granted her by Christ Jesus, intervenes in favor of individual Christians and opens for them the treasury of the merits of Christ and the saints to obtain from the Father of mercies the remission of the temporal punishments due for their sins. Thus the Church does not want simply to come to the aid of these Christians, but also to spur them to works of devotion, penance, and charity. 89

In the ecclesial service of the ordained minister, it is Christ himself who is present to his Church as Head of his Body, Shepherd of his flock, high priest of the redemptive sacrifice, Teacher of Truth. This is what the Church means by saying that the priest, by Virtue of the sacrament of Holy Orders, acts in perSona Christi Capitis: 23

"Amongst those various offices which have been exercised in the Church from the earliest times the chief place, according to the witness of tradition, is held by the function of those who, through their appointment to the dignity and responsibility of bishop, and in Virtue consequently of the unbroken succession going back to the beginning, are regarded as transmitters of the apostolic line." 34

"Episcopal consecration confers, together with the office of sanctifying, also the offices of teaching and ruling.... In fact ... by the imposition of hands and through the words of the consecration, the Grace of the Holy Spirit is given, and a sacred character is impressed in such wise that Bishops, in an eminent and visible manner, take the place of Christ himself, teacher, shepherd, and priest, and act as his representative (in Eius perSona agant)." 37 "By Virtue, therefore, of the Holy Spirit who has been given to them, bishops have been constituted true and authentic teachers of the Faith and have been made pontiffs and pastors." 38

From the very beginning of the Church there were men and women who set out to follow Christ with greater liberty, and to imitate him more closely, by practicing the evangelical counsels. They led lives dedicated to God, each in his own way. Many of them, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, became hermits or founded religious families. These the Church, by Virtue of her Authority, gladly accepted and approved. 458

Throughout the Old Covenant the mission of many holy women prepared for that of Mary. At the very beginning there was Eve; despite her disobedience, she receives the promise of a posterity that will be victorious over the evil one, as well as the promise that she will be the mother of all the living. 128 By Virtue of this promise, Sarah conceives a Son in spite of her old age. 129 Against all human expectation God chooses those who were considered powerless and weak to show forth his Faithfulness to his promises: Hannah, the mother of Samuel; Deborah; Ruth; Judith and Esther; and many other women. 130 Mary "stands out among the poor and humble of the Lord, who confidently hope for and receive salvation from him. After a long period of waiting the times are fulfilled in her, the exalted Daughter of Sion, and the new plan of salvation is established." 131

As for the Son, he effects his own Resurrection by Virtue of his divine power. Jesus announces that the Son of man will have to suffer much, die, and then rise. 516 Elsewhere he affirms explicitly: "I lay down my life, that I may take it again. . . I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again." 517 "We believe that Jesus died and rose again." 518

As Lord, Christ is also head of the Church, which is his Body. 551 Taken up to heaven and glorified after he had thus fully accomplished his mission, Christ dwells on earth in his Church. the redemption is the source of the Authority that Christ, by Virtue of the Holy Spirit, exercises over the Church. "The kingdom of Christ (is) already present in mystery", "on earth, the seed and the beginning of the kingdom". 552

"No one can say 'Jesus is Lord' except by the Holy Spirit." 1 "God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, 'Abba! Father!"' 2 This knowledge of Faith is possible only in the Holy Spirit: to be in touch with Christ, we must first have been touched by the Holy Spirit. He comes to meet us and kindles faith in us. By Virtue of our Baptism, the first sacrament of the faith, the Holy Spirit in the Church communicates to us, intimately and personally, the life that originates in the Father and is offered to us in the Son.

The Holy Spirit is "the principle of every vital and truly saving action in each part of the Body." 247 He works in many ways to build up the whole Body in charity: 248 by God's Word "which is able to build you up"; 249 by Baptism, through which he forms Christ's Body; 250 by the sacraments, which give growth and healing to Christ's members; by "the Grace of the apostles, which holds first place among his gifts"; 251 by the Virtues, which make us act according to what is good; finally, by the many special graces (called "charisms"), by which he makes the Faithful "fit and ready to undertake various tasks and offices for the renewal and building up of the Church." 252

By canonizing some of the Faithful, i.e., by solemnly pro claiming that they practiced heroic Virtue and lived in fidelity to God's Grace, the Church recognizes the power of the Spirit of holiness within her and sustains the hope of believers by proposing the saints to them as models and intercessors. 303 "The saints have always been the source and origin of renewal in the most difficult moments in the Church's history." 304 Indeed, "holiness is the hidden source and infallible measure of her apostolic activity and missionary zeal." 305

"In Virtue of their rebirth in Christ there exists among all the Christian Faithful a true equality with regard to dignity and the activity whereby all cooperate in the building up of the Body of Christ in accord with each one's own condition and function." 386

"How are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? and how are they to hear without a preacher? and how can men preach unless they are sent?" 390 No one - no individual and no community - can proclaim the Gospel to himself: "Faith comes from what is heard." 391 No one can give himself the mandate and the mission to proclaim the Gospel. the one sent by the Lord does not speak and act on his own Authority, but by Virtue of Christ's authority; not as a member of the community, but speaking to it in the name of Christ. No one can bestow Grace on himself; it must be given and offered. This fact presupposes ministers of grace, authorized and empowered by Christ. From him, they receive the mission and faculty ("the sacred power") to act in perSona Christi Capitis. the ministry in which Christ's emissaries do and give by God's grace what they cannot do and give by their own powers, is called a "sacrament" by the Church's tradition. Indeed, the ministry of the Church is conferred by a special sacrament.

"The Roman Pontiff, head of the college of Bishops, enjoys this infallibility in Virtue of his office, when, as supreme pastor and teacher of all the Faithful - who confirms his brethren in the Faith he proclaims by a definitive act a doctrine pertaining to faith or morals.... the infallibility promised to the Church is also present in the body of bishops when, together with Peter's successor, they exercise the supreme Magisterium," above all in an Ecumenical Council. 418 When the Church through its supreme Magisterium proposes a doctrine "for belief as being divinely revealed," 419 and as the teaching of Christ, the definitions "must be adhered to with the obedience of faith." 420 This infallibility extends as far as the deposit of divine Revelation itself. 421

Since, like all the Faithful, lay Christians are entrusted by God with the apostolate by Virtue of their Baptism and Confirmation, they have the right and duty, individually or grouped in associations, to work so that the divine message of salvation may be known and accepted by all men throughout the earth. This duty is the more pressing when it is only through them that men can hear the Gospel and know Christ. Their activity in ecclesial communities is so necessary that, for the most part, the apostolate of the pastors cannot be fully effective without it. 433 The participation of lay people in Christ's priestly office

"Moreover, by uniting their forces let the laity so remedy the institutions and conditions of the world when the latter are an inducement to sin, that these may be conformed to the norms of Justice, favoring rather than hindering the practice of Virtue. By so doing they will impregnate culture and human works with a moral value." 447

"One is constituted a member of the episcopal body in Virtue of the sacramental consecration and by the hierarchical communion with the head and members of the college." 39 The character and collegial nature of the episcopal order are evidenced among other ways by the Church's ancient practice which calls for several Bishops to participate in the consecration of a new bishop. 40 In our day, the lawful ordination of a bishop requires a special intervention of the Bishop of Rome, because he is the supreme visible bond of the communion of the particular Churches in the one Church and the guarantor of their freedom.

"Whilst not having the supreme degree of the pontifical office, and notwithstanding the fact that they depend on the Bishops in the exercise of their own proper power, the priests are for all that associated with them by reaSon of their sacerdotal dignity; and in Virtue of the sacrament of Holy Orders, after the image of Christ, the supreme and eternal priest, they are consecrated in order to preach the Gospel and shepherd the Faithful as well as to celebrate divine worship as true priests of the New Testament." 46

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; "the prudent man looks where he is going." 65 "Keep sane and sober for your prayers." 66 Prudence is "right reason in action," writes St. Thomas Aquinas, following Aristotle. 67 It is not to be confused with timidity or fear, nor with duplicity or dissimulation. It is called auriga virtutum (the charioteer of the virtues); it guides the other virtues by setting rule and measure. It is prudence that immediately guides the judgment of conscience. the prudent man determines and directs his conduct in accordance with this judgment. With the help of this virtue we apply moral principles to particular cases without error and overcome doubts about the good to achieve and the evil to avoid.

Justice is the moral Virtue that consists in the constant and firm will to give their due to God and neighbor. Justice toward God is called the "virtue of religion." Justice toward men disposes one to respect the rights of each and to establish in human relationships the harmony that promotes equity with regard to perSons and to the common good. the just man, often mentioned in the Sacred Scriptures, is distinguished by habitual right thinking and the uprightness of his conduct toward his neighbor. "You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor." 68 "Masters, treat your slaves justly and fairly, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven." 69

Fortitude is the moral Virtue that ensures firmness in difficulties and constancy in the pursuit of the good. It strengthens the resolve to resist temptations and to overcome obstacles in the moral life. the virtue of fortitude enables one to conquer fear, even fear of death, and to face trials and persecutions. It disposes one even to renounce and sacrifice his life in defense of a just cause. "The Lord is my strength and my Song." 70 "In the world you have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." 71

Temperance is the moral Virtue that moderates the attraction of pleasures and provides balance in the use of created Goods. It ensures the will's mastery over instincts and keeps desires within the limits of what is honorable. the temperate perSon directs the sensitive appetites toward what is good and maintains a healthy discretion: "Do not follow your inclination and strength, walking according to the desires of your heart." 72 Temperance is often praised in the Old Testament: "Do not follow your base desires, but restrain your appetites." 73 In the New Testament it is called "moderation" or "sobriety." We ought "to live sober, upright, and Godly lives in this world." 74

Human Virtues acquired by education, by deliberate acts and by a perseverance ever-renewed in repeated efforts are purified and elevated by divine Grace. With God's help, they forge character and give facility in the practice of the good. the virtuous man is happy to practice them.

It is not easy for man, wounded by sin, to maintain moral balance. Christ's gift of salvation offers us the Grace necessary to persevere in the pursuit of the Virtues. Everyone should always ask for this grace of light and strength, frequent the sacraments, cooperate with the Holy Spirit, and follow his calls to love what is good and shun evil.

The human Virtues are rooted in the theological virtues, which adapt man's faculties for participation in the divine nature: 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.

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. 77

Faith is the theological Virtue by which we believe in God and believe all that he has said and revealed to us, and that Holy Church proposes for our belief, because he is truth itself. By faith "man freely commits his entire self to God." 78 For this reaSon the believer seeks to know and do God's will. "The righteous shall live by faith." Living faith "work(s) through charity." 79

Hope is the theological Virtue by which we desire the kingdom of heaven and eternal life as our happiness, placing our trust in Christ's promises and relying not on our own strength, but on the help of the Grace of the Holy Spirit. "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is Faithful." 84 "The Holy Spirit . . . he poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that we might be justified by his grace and become heirs in hope of eternal life." 85

The Virtue of hope responds to the aspiration to happiness which God has placed in the heart of every man; it takes up the hopes that inspire men's activities and purifies them so as to order them to the Kingdom of heaven; it keeps man from discouragement; it sustains him during times of abandonment; it opens up his heart in expectation of eternal beatitude. Buoyed up by hope, he is preserved from selfishness and led to the happiness that flows from charity.

Four Virtues play a pivotal role and accordingly are called "cardinal"; all the others are grouped around them. They are: prudence, Justice, fortitude, and temperance. "If anyone loves righteousness, [Wisdom's] labors are virtues; for she teaches temperance and prudence, justice, and courage." 64 These virtues are praised under other names in many passages of Scripture.

Human Virtues are firm attitudes, stable dispositions, habitual perfections of intellect and will that govern our actions, order our passions, and guide our conduct according to reaSon and Faith. They make possible ease, self-mastery, and joy in leading a morally good life. the virtuous man is he who freely practices the good. The moral virtues are acquired by human effort. They are the fruit and seed of morally good acts; they dispose all the powers of the human being for communion with divine love.

"Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things." 62 A Virtue is an habitual and firm disposition to do the good. It allows the perSon not only to perform good acts, but to give the best of himself. the virtuous person tends toward the good with all his sensory and spiritual powers; he pursues the good and chooses it in concrete actions.

In marriages with disparity of cult the Catholic spouse has a particular task: "For the unbelieving husband is consecrated through his wife, and the unbelieving wife is consecrated through her husband." 138 It is a great joy for the Christian spouse and for the Church if this "consecration" should lead to the free conversion of the other spouse to the Christian Faith. 139 Sincere married love, the humble and patient practice of the family Virtues, and perseverance in prayer can prepare the non-believing spouse to accept the Grace of conversion.

Catechesis has to reveal in all clarity the joy and the demands of the way of Christ. 22 Catechesis for the "newness of life" 23 in him should be: -a catechesis of the Holy Spirit, the interior Master of life according to Christ, a gentle guest and friend who inspires, guides, corrects, and strengthens this life; -a catechesis of Grace, for it is by grace that we are saved and again it is by grace that our works can bear fruit for eternal life; -a catechesis of the beatitudes, for the way of Christ is summed up in the beatitudes, the only path that leads to the eternal beatitude for which the human heart longs; -a catechesis of sin and forgiveness, for unless man acknowledges that he is a sinner he cannot know the truth about himself, which is a condition for acting justly; and without the offer of forgiveness he would not be able to bear this truth; -a catechesis of the human Virtues which causes one to grasp the beauty and attraction of right dispositions towards goodness; -a catechesis of the Christian virtues of Faith, hope, and charity, generously inspired by the example of the saints; -a catechesis of the twofold commandment of charity set forth in the Decalogue; -an ecclesial catechesis, for it is through the manifold exchanges of "spiritual Goods" in the "communion of saints" that Christian life can grow, develop, and be communicated.

The dignity of the human perSon is rooted in his creation in the image and likeness of God (article 1); it is fulfilled in his vocation to divine beatitude (article 2). It is essential to a human being freely to direct himself to this fulfillment (article 3). By his deliberate actions (article 4), the human person does, or does not, conform to the good promised by God and attested by moral conscience (article 5). Human beings make their own contribution to their interior growth; they make their whole sentient and spiritual lives into means of this growth (article 6). With the help of Grace they grow in Virtue (article 7), avoid sin, and if they sin they entrust themselves as did the prodigal son 1 to the mercy of our Father in heaven (article 8). In this way they attain to the perfection of charity.

By Virtue of his soul and his spiritual powers of intellect and will, man is endowed with freedom, an "outstanding manifestation of the divine image." 8

Freedom makes man responsible for his acts to the extent that they are voluntary. Progress in Virtue, knowledge of the good, and ascesis enhance the mastery of the will over its acts.

Strong feelings are not decisive for the morality or the holiness of perSons; they are simply the inexhaustible reservoir of images and affections in which the moral life is expressed. Passions are morally good when they contribute to a good action, evil in the opposite case. the upright will orders the movements of the senses it appropriates to the good and to beatitude; an evil will succumbs to disordered passions and exacerbates them. Emotions and feelings can be taken up into the Virtues or perverted by the vices.

Conscience enables one to assume responsibility for the acts performed. If man commits evil, the just judgment of conscience can remain within him as the witness to the universal truth of the good, at the same time as the evil of his particular choice. the verdict of the judgment of conscience remains a pledge of hope and mercy. In attesting to the fault committed, it calls to mind the forgiveness that must be asked, the good that must still be practiced, and the Virtue that must be constantly cultivated with the Grace of God:

The education of the conscience is a lifelong task. From the earliest years, it awakens the child to the knowledge and practice of the interior law recognized by conscience. Prudent education teaches Virtue; it prevents or cures fear, selfishness and pride, resentment arising from guilt, and feelings of complacency, born of human weakness and faults. the education of the conscience guarantees freedom and engenders peace of heart.

To this purpose, man strives to interpret the data of experience and the signs of the times assisted by the Virtue of prudence, by the advice of competent people, and by the help of the Holy Spirit and his gifts.

Charity is the theological Virtue by which we love God above all things for his own sake, and our neighbor as ourselves for the love of God.