The Virtues
Theological and cardinal — the habits of a holy life
A virtue is "a habitual and firm disposition to do the good" (CCC 1803). It is not a single act but a settled inclination — the soul trained to act rightly without every decision becoming a fresh struggle.
The Catholic tradition distinguishes two families of virtues. The theological virtues — faith, hope, and charity — are infused by God at Baptism; their object is God himself. The cardinal virtues — prudence, justice, fortitude, temperance — are acquired by repeated good acts (and deepened by grace); they govern human life before God, neighbor, self.
Together they are "the seven": the core virtues that shape a holy life.
The Theological Virtues
Faith. The virtue by which we believe in God and all that he has revealed and that the Church proposes for our belief. Faith is not feeling but a firm adherence of the mind to the Truth — who is God himself.
Hope. The virtue by which we desire the kingdom of heaven and eternal life as our happiness, trusting in Christ's promises and the help of the Holy Spirit. Hope keeps us from presumption and from despair.
Charity. The virtue by which we love God above all things for his own sake, and our neighbor as ourselves for the love of God. Charity is the "form" of every other virtue — they are truly virtues only when animated by love.
"So faith, hope, love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love." — 1 Cor 13:13
The Cardinal Virtues
Prudence. Right reason in action — the virtue that discerns the true good in every circumstance and chooses the right means to attain it. It is the "charioteer" of the other virtues, guiding them.
Justice. The constant will to give each person his due — to God, the worship owed to him; to neighbor, what belongs to him in truth and charity.
Fortitude. Firmness in difficulty and constancy in pursuing the good. Fortitude resists fear, even the fear of death, and fortifies one's resolve when the good is hard.
Temperance. Moderation in the use of created goods — food, drink, pleasure, honor. Temperance is not rejection of the good but its right ordering; it keeps desire within the bounds of reason and truth.
The cardinal virtues are called "cardinal" from the Latin cardo, the hinge — because upon them the moral life turns.