Article — Noldin, Summa of Moral Theology
Second Article. On Supernatural Virtues
28. Whether they exist. Supernatural virtues are habits infused by God, by which man can connaturally exercise supernatural acts. That virtues of this sort are infused by God is demonstrated by theological reason and is established from the Council of Trent.
a. It is required that nature, elevated to the supernatural state, be able connaturally to produce acts by which it tends to the supernatural end. But for this it is required that not only the external and transient principle, actual grace, but also the internal and permanent principle, namely power, be supernatural; and this is supplied by infused habits. Therefore God has adorned man with the habits of supernatural virtues.
Therefore, what in the order of nature are the powers of the soul, intellect and will, in the supernatural order are infused habits, namely the proximate principle of supernatural life; just as sanctifying grace, from which infused habits proceed, must be called the remote principle of supernatural life.
b. If it is asked only in general whether there are infused virtues, it must be answered that from revelation it is certain that supernatural virtues are infused into the soul: for from the Council of Trent we know that in justification itself, together with the remission of sins, man receives all these gifts infused at once through Jesus Christ, to whom he is joined: faith, hope, and charity.2 Infused virtues are some theological virtues, others moral virtues.
These virtues are called theological, or divine, by reason of divine origin, because they are known only by divine revelation and are not acquired unless they are infused into us by God; by reason of essence, because they are supernatural in themselves; but especially by reason of the formal object, which is some divine perfection. On the contrary, the formal object of the other virtues is some created good. Yet the material object of the theological virtues, namely the true which we believe and the good which we hope for and love, at least the principal and primary object, is God Himself.
1 St. Thomas I-II, q. 62-67. Suarez, De gratia l. 6, c. 4. Mazella, De virtutibus infusis^2 (Rome: Forzani, 1894). Pesch, Praelectiones dogmaticae (Freiburg: Herder, 1898), VIII, I. Tepe, Institutiones theologiae moralis generalis (Paris: Lethielleux, 1898), De virtutibus II, p. 147 ff. Kirschkamp, Der Geist des Katholizismus in der Lehre vom Glauben und von der Liebe (Paderborn: Schoningh, 1895).
29. On the theological virtues. 1. The theological virtues are those whose motive, or formal object, is God or some divine perfection.
- There are three theological virtues, namely faith, hope, and charity; and these indeed are required and suffice for us to come to the ultimate end.
a. St. Paul, writing concerning the theological virtues, says: "Now there remain faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity."1 He is speaking of a genus of virtues distinct from all other virtues. Therefore the Council of Trent declares: "In justification itself, together with the remission of sins, man receives all these infused at once through Jesus Christ, to whom he is joined: faith, hope, charity."2
b. Since we are destined to the supernatural end, God willed to render us capable of tending toward Him by proportioned acts, namely acts intrinsically supernatural and connatural to us. For this it was necessary that the habits of the theological virtues be infused into us. For in order that we may be able to tend to God, our supernatural end, it is necessary that we know Him supernaturally, that we be borne toward Him by a supernatural desire, and finally that we be supernaturally conformed to Him. But the first is had through faith, the second through hope, the third through theological charity, and therefore through the infused habits of the theological virtues (Ecclus. 2:8 ff.).
Several say that it is certain by faith from the cited place of the Council of Trent that the theological virtues are infused into us by God. They are infused all together at the same time with sanctifying grace, but they are not all lost together.
As often as sanctifying grace is increased, together with it the theological virtues also are increased with the remaining virtues: for so great is the connection between grace and the virtues that they are infused, preserved, and increased with it. But sanctifying grace is increased by reception of the sacraments and by good works.3
Although the theological virtues are all infused together with sanctifying grace and flow from it, nevertheless they are not all lost with it, but perish through acts opposed to them.
Charity, together with sanctifying grace, is lost through any mortal sin whatever; but faith and hope are lost only through mortal sin directly opposed to these virtues. For faith and hope precede charity by nature, dispose to it, and lead to it; for which reason, when charity has been lost, its prior dispositions are not lost, but remain in the sinner so that they may help him in recovering charity. Through the mortal sin of despair, hope is lost together with charity and sanctifying grace, but not faith, which is a prior disposition to hope and the foundation of all supernatural virtues. Finally, through the mortal sin of heresy, faith is lost together with sanctifying grace and all infused virtues.
1 1 Cor. 13:13.
30. On moral virtues. Moral virtues are those whose formal object is the uprightness of actions.
a. Since it is not certain by faith that moral virtues also are infused into us by God, there are theologians, the Scotists, who deny this; nevertheless their doctrine is rejected by others as erroneous. And indeed if it is established that the theological virtues are infused, this cannot be denied concerning the moral virtues. For if God infuses the theological virtues so that their acts may be exercised connaturally through internal principles, for the same reason He must also infuse the moral virtues. Therefore the Roman Catechism teaches: "To this grace there is added the most noble company of all virtues, which are divinely infused into the soul together with grace."1
b. It is not established how many infused moral virtues there are. It seems one must say that the four cardinal virtues are infused, but no more. For since the remaining moral virtues are reduced to the cardinal virtues as their integral or subjective parts, the habits of the latter suffice also for eliciting the acts of the former.
1 On baptism, n. 51.
31. What the virtues effect. Infused habits, according to the common and truer opinion of theologians, give the very power, but not also the facility, of eliciting supernatural acts, because they indeed incline to their acts, but do not remove their impediments.
a. From these things the chief difference which exists between infused and acquired virtues is already clear: a. infused virtues give the very faculty, but not also the facility, of operating supernaturally. For when they are infused, they do not remove the impediments of operating which arise from concupiscence and from bad habits. Facility of operating is acquired through exercise of the infused habit. Acquired virtues, however, do not bestow the power but the facility of operating: for the power of operating is already present by nature; but since they are acquired by repeated acts and not without struggle, by this very fact they lessen or even entirely remove the difficulties of operating which arise from concupiscence or from a depraved custom. b. Infused virtues are infused with sanctifying grace in an instant of time, are increased by their acts not effectively but meritoriously, and are destroyed by mortal sin with sanctifying grace in an instant of time. Acquired virtues, however, are acquired not by one act but by repeated acts; by the same acts they are effectively increased, and by non-use or contrary acts they are gradually lessened and finally disappear.
b. Hence we sometimes see sinners, for example the impure, excel in some virtue, for example in justice; for not all acquired virtues are destroyed through mortal sin. On the contrary, we see just men having to fight against diverse and very vehement inclinations to evil: for infused virtues do not remove natural depraved habits, which are gradually weakened by contrary acts.