Theological virtues are virtues associated in Christian theology and philosophy with salvation resulting from the grace of God. Virtues are traits or qualities which dispose one to conduct oneself in a morally good manner. Traditionally the theological virtues have been named faith, hope, and charity (love). They are coupled with the four natural or cardinal virtues, and opposed to the seven deadly sins.
Piety is a virtue which may include religious devotion or spirituality. A common element in most conceptions of piety is a duty of respect. In a religious context, piety may be expressed through pious activities or devotions, which may vary among countries and cultures.
Agape is "the highest form of love, charity" and "the love of God for [human beings] and of [human beings] for God". This is in contrast to philia, brotherly love, or philautia, self-love, as it embraces a profound sacrificial love that transcends and persists regardless of circumstance.
Thomism is the philosophical and theological school which arose as a legacy of the work and thought of Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274), the Dominican philosopher, theologian, and Doctor of the Church.
In Christian theology, the beatific vision is the ultimate direct self-communication of God to the individual person. A person possessing the beatific vision reaches, as a member of redeemed humanity in the communion of saints, perfect salvation in its entirety, i.e., heaven. The notion of vision stresses the intellectual component of salvation, though it encompasses the whole of human experience of joy, happiness coming from seeing God finally face to face and not imperfectly through faith..
Gaudete Sunday is the third Sunday of Advent in the liturgical calendar of Western Christianity, including the Roman Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion, Lutheran churches, and other mainline Protestant churches. It can fall on any date from 11 December to 17 December.
In Christian tradition, the seven heavenly virtues combine the four cardinal virtues of prudence, justice, temperance, and fortitude with the three theological virtues of faith, hope, and charity.
Justice is one of the four cardinal virtues in classical European philosophy and Roman Catholicism. It is the moderation or mean between selfishness and selflessness — between having more and having less than one's fair share.
The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit are an enumeration of seven spiritual gifts first found in the book of Isaiah, and much commented upon by patristic authors. They are: wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord.
"The law of Christ" is a New Testament phrase. The related Bible verses are in the Pauline epistles at Galatians 6:2 and parenthetically at 1 Corinthians 9:21.
The Fruit of the Holy Spirit is a biblical term that sums up nine attributes of a person or community living in accord with the Holy Spirit, according to chapter 5 of the Epistle to the Galatians: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control." The fruit is contrasted with the works of the flesh discussed in the previous verses.
The Summa Theologiae or Summa Theologica, often referred to simply as the Summa, is the best-known work of Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274), a scholastic theologian and Doctor of the Church. It is a compendium of all of the main theological teachings of the Catholic Church, intended to be an instructional guide for theology students, including seminarians and the literate laity. Presenting the reasoning for almost all points of Christian theology in the West, topics of the Summa follow the following cycle: God; Creation, Man; Man's purpose; Christ; the Sacraments; and back to God.
Deus caritas est, subtitled De Christiano Amore, is a 2005 encyclical, the first written by Pope Benedict XVI, in large part derived from writings by his late predecessor, Pope John Paul II. Its subject is love, as seen from a Christian perspective, and God's place within all love. Charity is one of the three theological virtues; and the other two were treated in two successive encyclicals, one signed by Benedict and one written substantially by him but signed by his successor Pope Francis . This text begins with a reflection on the forms of love known in Greek philosophy—eros, agape, philia (friendship)—and their relationship with the teachings of Jesus.
Brian Evan Anthony Davies is a British philosopher, Roman Catholic priest, and friar. He is Distinguished Professor of Philosophy, Fordham University, and author of An Introduction to the Philosophy of Religion, now in its fourth English edition, which has been translated into five languages.
Catholic theology of sexuality, like Catholic theology in general, is drawn from "natural law", canonical scripture, divine revelation, and sacred tradition, as interpreted authoritatively by the magisterium of the Catholic Church. Sexual morality evaluates sexual behavior according to standards laid out by Catholic moral theology, and often provides general principles by which Catholics can evaluate whether specific actions meet these standards.
Thomas Aquinas was an Italian Dominican friar and priest, the foremost Scholastic thinker, as well one of the most influential philosophers and theologians in the Western tradition. He was from the county of Aquino in the Kingdom of Sicily.
Servais-Théodore Pinckaers OP was a noted moral theologian, Roman Catholic priest, and member of the Dominican Order. He has been especially influential in the renewal of a theological and Christological approach to Christian virtue ethics.
"Thou shalt not steal" is one of the Ten Commandments of the Jewish Torah, which are widely understood as moral imperatives by legal scholars, Jewish scholars, Catholic scholars, and Post-Reformation scholars.
Religion is a distinct moral virtue whose purpose is to render God the worship due to Him as the source of all being and the giver of all good things. As such, in Christianity it is part of the cardinal virtue of Justice, and falls under obedience to the First Commandment.
Treatise on Law is Thomas Aquinas' major work of legal philosophy. It forms questions 90–108 of the Prima Secundæ of the Summa Theologiæ, Aquinas' masterwork of Scholastic philosophical theology. Along with Aristotelianism, it forms the basis not only for the legal theory of Catholic canon law, but provides a model for natural law theories generally.
