According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC), human virtues are firm attitudes, stable dispositions, and habitual perfections of the intellect and will that govern our actions, order our passions, and guide our conduct according to reason and faith.1 These virtues make it possible for us to live a morally good life with ease, self-mastery, and joy.

The moral virtues are acquired through human effort, and they are the fruit and seed of morally good acts. They dispose all the powers of the human being for communion with divine love.1

The cardinal virtues mentioned in this passage are the principal human virtues. They are the foundation of all other virtues and are essential for living a moral life. These cardinal virtues are prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance.1