St. Thomas’s Guide to Happiness and the Moral Life:
The Theological and Cardinal Virtues

Fear, Courage, and Resilience: Remaining in Christ with the Virtue of Fortitude Fr. Ezra Sullivan, OP Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas In his Summa Theologiae, II-II, qq. 123-140, St. Thomas Aquinas offers a thorough “treatise on Fortitude,” which explains how this virtue, and the corresponding Gift of the Holy Spirit, contributes an essential role to a life of holiness.…

Acquiring the True Virtue of Temperance Sr. Catherine Joseph Droste, OP Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum) Among the theological and cardinal virtues temperance has last place, yet is as essential to our daily life as all the others. In fact, a study of temperance and the quasi virtue of continence helps us to understand how one moves from…

Knowing How to be Happy: Prudence in the thought of Saint Thomas Aquinas Sr. Mary Christa Nutt, RSM Religious Sisters of Mercy, Alma Michigan How do we know what to do to in order to find lasting happiness? If today we sometimes equate prudence with caution or timidity, to Aquinas, prudence is the virtue by which we may attain to…

What is Just and Unjust is Usually in Dispute: How Can Aquinas Help? Fr. Robert Ombres, OP Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas The search for the meaning and application of justice, and the avoidance of injustice, has a long history and is constantly in dispute. Aquinas has much to say about this central dimension of our moral lives in…

A Virtue and More than a Virtue: Charity as Fellowship with God Fr. John Emery, OP University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Buenos Aires Click here to view the handout for this lecture (PDF). Fr. John Emery is a Dominican priest who is Professor and Head of Dogmatic Theology at the University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Buenos Aires (UNSTA),…

Why is Faith Important? Fr. Wojciech Giertych, OP Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum) How does the virtue of faith make a difference to the life of a Christian? In this opening lecture of our Online Virtue Series, Theologian of the Papal Household and beloved Angelicum professor Fr. Wojciech Giertych, OP shows how faith is the spark that ignites…