160. The Three Theological Virtues: Faith, Hope, and Charity

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Lecture Notes

Main Topics #

The Existence of Three Distinct Theological Virtues #

• Thomas Aquinas defends against objections that there should be only one or two theological virtues
• The theological virtues have God Himself as their formal object insofar as He exceeds human reason
• They are infused by God, not acquired through habituation
• They order the human soul to supernatural beatitude, which exceeds natural human capacity

Objection: Why Not Just One or Two Virtues? #

• Some argue there should be only one virtue, parallel to the intellectus principiorum (understanding of axioms) in natural virtue
• Others claim only two are needed: one perfecting intellect (faith), one perfecting will (charity)
• The question of how faith and hope differ if both seem imperfect compared to intellectual and moral virtues

Why Three Virtues Are Necessary #

• The intellect requires faith (fides) to grasp supernatural truths through divine light—the believables (credibilia)
• The will requires two distinct virtues:
  • Hope (spes): motion of intention toward the supernatural end as something possible to obtain
  • Charity (caritas): spiritual union with God through love; conformity of the heart to God
• The will’s nature alone suffices for natural ordering to happiness, but supernatural ordering requires added virtues

Distinction Between Faith and Hope #

• Faith concerns things not seen; involves conviction (πίστις/persuasio) of invisible truths
• Hope concerns things not yet possessed; involves desire and motion toward obtainable goods
• Both appear imperfect, yet this imperfection does not disqualify them from being virtues
• A brief glimpse of someone we love exceeds leisurely contemplation of someone we do not care about

Key Arguments #

Response to Objection on Imperfection (Against Faith and Hope as Virtues) #

Objection: Faith and hope are less perfect than intellectual and moral virtues, so they should not be called virtues.

Response:

• Imperfection in mode (not in the thing itself) does not prevent virtue status
• Faith concerns supernatural truths grasped by divine light, which exceeds the capacity of natural reason
• Hope tends toward supernatural beatitude, which exceeds natural human desire
• Even imperfect knowledge of God exceeds perfect knowledge of lesser things (following Aristotle’s principle)
• Therefore, to have theological virtues to these supernatural realities exceeds the proportion of man’s nature—this is not a defect but a perfection

Response to Objection on Number of Virtues #

Objection: There should be only two theological virtues—one for intellect, one for will—just as there is one virtue (understanding) for natural intellect and cardinal virtues for the will.

Response:

• The will has two distinct operations requiring two virtues:
  1. Motion of intention toward the end as obtainable → Hope
  2. Conformity to the end through spiritual union → Charity
• This parallels the natural order: just as the intellect has one virtue but the will and appetitive powers have multiple virtues (prudence, justice, fortitude, temperance), so too the theological virtues reflect distinct operations of the will

Why Charity Cannot Perfect Both Operations #

• Hope is specifically the motion-toward; charity is specifically the conformity-to/union-with
• These are genuinely distinct acts of the will
• One virtue cannot formally perfect two generically different operations

Important Definitions #

Theological Virtues #

• Infused (not acquired) habits that perfect the intellect and will in their ordering to supernatural beatitude
• Have God insofar as He exceeds human reason as their formal object
• Ordered to an end that exceeds human nature; man partakes of divine nature through grace (2 Peter 1:4)

Faith (Fides) #

• Defined as conviction of things not seen (πίστις - persuasio of invisible realities)
• Grasps supernatural truths through divine light; these are called credibilia (believables)
• Provides the foundation for hope and charity by making known the divine end

Hope (Spes) #

• Motion of intention (motio intentionis) of the will toward the supernatural end as something possible to obtain
• Distinct from the principal object (the good itself, which is loved) and the source from which good is hoped (which disposes to love)
• A passion and an imperfect state, yet a genuine virtue when ordered to supernatural beatitude

Charity (Caritas) #

• Conformity (conformitas) to the supernatural end through spiritual union; love that unites the heart with God
• The form of all virtues; the root and mother of all virtues
• In the order of perfection, both faith and hope are “formed” by charity—they acquire their full virtue-character through charity

Two Orders of the Theological Virtues #

Order of Generation (ordo generationis):

• The temporal/developmental order in which the virtues arise in the soul
• Faith → Hope → Charity
• Corresponds to motion and acts; faith precedes hope because one cannot hope for what is unknown; hope precedes charity because one loves what one regards as one’s own good, which hope establishes

Order of Perfection (ordo perfectionis):

• The essential/intrinsic order of excellence
• Charity → Hope → Faith
• Charity is prior because both faith and hope are “formed” by charity; without charity, they lack their perfecting principle
• Charity is the mother and root; it gives form and perfection to the other virtues

Examples & Illustrations #

Faith as Imperfect Knowledge #

• Taking someone else’s word (credere): trusting someone’s testimony without seeing the truth directly
• The person who has faith does not know where the faith comes from or how it comes from God
• Mortimer Adler: initially objected to becoming Catholic because “faith is a gift”—eventually recognized this and converted

Hope as Passion and Motion #

• Football players hoping to win a game (even before the game is played)
• A lover who hopes to gain the beloved: distinct from already having the beloved
• The motion toward something not yet possessed

The Order of Charity in the Our Father #

• First petition (“Hallowed be thy name”): glorifying God—the end itself
• Second petition (“Thy kingdom come”): the beatific vision as the principal end
• Third and fourth petitions: means to the end (daily bread, forgiveness of trespasses)
• Last petitions: removal of impediments (temptation, evil)
• This order reflects how charity should order all desires

Union in Charity #

• St. Teresa of Ávila near the end of her life: “What more could I have in heaven? Our union is already complete”
• Illustrates how charity creates actual spiritual union even in this life, not merely the hope of future union
• The love of concupiscence (wanting) is within the love of friendship (amor amicitiae); charity includes both forms of love

The Development of Love Toward God #

• According to Benedict (or Augustine): stages of love progress from self-love for self’s sake → love of God for one’s own good → knowledge of God’s own lovableness → love of God for His own sake → love of self for God’s sake
• Thomas notes that hope disposes for charity: one hopes to receive good from another, which disposes one to eventually love that person for their own sake and apart from benefits
• Once charity is established, hope is strengthened—love increases hope in the beloved

Questions Addressed #

Why Three Rather Than One or Two Virtues? #

• Question: If theological virtues order the soul to God, and God is known only through intellect and will, why not just two virtues?
• Answer: The will requires two virtues because it has two distinct operations: motion toward the end (hope) and conformity/union with the end (charity). The intellect requires one virtue (faith) because it needs understandable forms to grasp all supernatural truths.

How Can Faith and Hope Be Virtues If They Imply Imperfection? #

• Question: Virtues should be perfect; faith concerns what is not seen, hope concerns what is not had. How are these perfect virtues?
• Answer: The imperfection in mode (unseeing, not-having) does not prevent virtue-status. These virtues order the soul to a supernatural end exceeding human capacity. Even imperfect knowledge of God exceeds perfect knowledge of lesser things. The imperfection is accidental to the virtue’s nature.

What Is the Proper Order of the Theological Virtues? #

• In Generation (Acts and Development): Faith → Hope → Charity. One cannot hope for what is unknown; one cannot love without first tending toward what one knows.
• In Perfection (Essential Excellence): Charity → Hope → Faith. Charity is the form of all virtues; it perfects faith and hope. Both faith and hope are “formed” by charity and acquire full virtue-character through charity.

How Do Hope and Charity Relate? #

• Question: Does charity move one toward God, or is it hope that moves?
• Answer: Hope is the proper motion toward the supernatural end (as something obtainable). Charity is the conformity/union with the end. Hope may be informed by love and strengthened by it, but they remain distinct acts. Love of concupiscence (wanting God’s vision) differs from love of friendship (wishing God well), though charity includes both.

Notable Quotes #

“However, there remains faith, hope, and charity, these three” (1 Corinthians 13:13) — St. Paul, establishing the enumeration of the three theological virtues that Augustine and Thomas follow

“Eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and into the heart of man it does not go up, the things which God has prepared for those who love him” (1 Corinthians 2:9) — Biblical basis for why supernatural principles must be added to natural intellect and will

“By faith we in some way know what our end is; by hope we tend towards that end; by charity we are already in a way joined to that end.” — Berquist’s summary of how the three virtues operate distinctly

“Charity is the mother of all the virtues and their root.” — Thomas Aquinas, on charity’s foundational role in perfecting all other virtues