There is a Longing

This is Part Three of our posts on the Three Theological Virtues - Faith, Hope, & Love. You can read part one  HERE  and part two HERE .      The third and greatest of the theological virtues is charity, often referred to as love. The Catechism tells us that 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.” As virtue is a means to this end-namely, loving God-charity orders all other virtues, as they derive their source and proceed from it. Charity is “the goal of…Christian practice.” It is what Christ seeks in all of us and what He Himself practiced perfectly during His life on earth.      While we can avoid truth, we can never escape it. One of the substantial facts is that we are made by God, Who is the Supreme Being, the Source of Life, and in Whom only we will find our joy. To practice charity is the natural response to the acknowledgement of thi...

  This is Part Two of our posts on the Three Theological Virtues - Faith, Hope, & Love. You can read part one HERE . *************** The word "hope" has numerous meanings. It is a noun, a verb, a feeling, a name. We throw the word around many times in everyday conversations. Brides hope their wedding day will be perfect.  Sports enthusiasts hope their team makes the playoffs. Patients hope the tests are negative for that fatal disease. Children hope for just the right present under the Christmas tree. None of these uses of the word "hope" are wrong, per se, but they're more wishes than hope. There is an even deeper meaning according to The Catechism of the Catholic Church. In the glossary, we find hope defined as "the theological virtue by which we desire and expect from God both eternal life and the grace we need to attain it." Our true hope in this sense is our desire for Heaven. Created by God, in His image, we are deeply drawn to the hope o...

This post is part one of three on the Three Theological Virtues of Faith, Hope, & Love. ***************                We shall start with a few brief passages from the Catechism of the Catholic Church on virtue. These will serve as a foundation for this series of posts, as these descriptions offer a sound definition of virtue. We will be focusing on the theological virtue of faith: 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. (CCC 1803) 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 ...