While the virtues of prudence, justice, fortitude and temperance are the marks of a righteous individual, the virtues of faith, hope and love emphasize a connection to other people fueled by belief in God and reliance on prayer, Pope Francis said.
"The Christian
Exercising the virtue of temperance is not a recipe for a boring life, Pope Francis said, but rather it is the secret to enjoying every good thing.
If one wants "to appreciate a good wine, savoring it in small sips is better than
While giving each person his or her due is fundamental for justice, the virtue of justice is not concentrated on the individual in isolation but on ensuring the common good of all, Pope Francis said.
Justice "is represented allegorically by scales, because it
"War is always a defeat," Pope Francis said, urging people at his general audience to pray that leaders in war-torn nations would have the courage to negotiate for peace.
"We must make every effort to discuss, to negotiate to end war. Let's pray
The saints are not unreachable "exceptions of humanity" but ordinary people who worked diligently to grow in virtue, Pope Francis said.
It is wrong to think of the saints as "a kind of small circle of champions who live beyond the limits of
Wrath is a "dark vice" that destroys relationships, focuses all blame on others and only worsens over time, Pope Francis said.
"It is capable of depriving us of sleep, of barring the way to reason and thought" because wrath completely clouds thinking clearly
Pornography and lust undermine and rob people from experiencing God's gift of love, Pope Francis said.
"Sexual pleasure, which is a gift from God, is undermined by pornography: satisfaction without relationship that can generate forms of addiction," the pope said Jan. 17 at
One of the most dangerous vices is gluttony, turning people who are meant to be custodians of creation into mere consumers and even exploiters and predators, Pope Francis said.
"The sin of those who succumb before a piece of cake, all things considered,
The devil is sly and sneaky like a serpent and subtly entices people to sin, Pope Francis said at his weekly general audience Dec. 27.
Beginning a new series of audience talks about vices and virtues, the pope said that evil grows "when
Should we really give to anyone who asks of us? It is easy to imagine that the reason Jesus tells us to give is because people have needs and we should try to meet those needs. And it is certainly good to