ROOTED IN VIRTUE
“Close your eyes for a moment and imagine a tree, a magnificent, towering tree…How does that tree withstand the storms and winds that shake it? How does it stand firm? Because of its roots. The same thing is true for us: our roots give us solidity and stability that we need in life. They are the secret springs that water our soul."
-Pope Francis at World Youth Day, 2023
What are the Virtues?
What are the virtues of Christianity? A virtue is the habit of doing good, making it easy and delightful. A virtuous person is free! The Christian virtues give us freedom from being overpowered by temptations and our vices. Everyone is born with a capacity for virtue, but we need education and practice to attain the freedom, harmony, and balance of the virtuous, excellent human being. God gives us the theological virtues of faith, hope, and charity. These virtues adapt our finite human faculties for participation in the divine life, to be in relationship with God. The theological virtues infuse and give life to the four Cardinal virtues. Learn more about the virtues with the interactive virtue tree.
This virtue tree is a fitting metaphor for the life of virtue. Just as the roots of a tree hold it in place, so do the theological virtues root us in God. “Charity is like the sap that nourishes the trunk and rises into the branches, the network of virtues, to produce the delicious fruit of good works. It is through this new love revealed and shared in Christ that the Holy Spirit works in us”
The four main branches of the tree represent the cardinal virtues upon which all good habits hinge. When we are open to the grace of God at work in us through the gifts and virtues, we are able to flourish. A thriving tree soon becomes a home to birds and small animals. The person fully alive in Christ is able to welcome others, sharing with them the riches he or she has received.
