St. Bernard of Clairvaux, Abbot and Doctor of the Church

The Cardinal Virtues

• Prudence

  Prudence is right reason applied to action: it recognizes the true good in a concrete situation and chooses suitable means to attain it. It is not mere caution or cleverness, because its judgment must serve a morally good end.

• Justice

  Justice is the steady will to give God and each person what is due. It governs worship, rights, promises, property, work, authority, and social duties by measuring conduct according to objective obligation rather than convenience or favoritism.

• Temperance

  Temperance restrains and orders the desire for bodily pleasure so that appetite follows reason and faith. By preserving inner balance, it enables created pleasures to be received gratefully without becoming masters of judgment or conduct.

• Fortitude

  Fortitude gives firmness in difficulty and constancy in pursuing the good despite fear, suffering, or danger. It moderates both cowardice and reckless boldness, especially by enabling endurance when duty cannot be completed without sacrifice.