theological virtues: questionnaire

Re: Virtues: Theological: Questionnaire
Fr: Extracted from the Catechism of the Catholic Church (1994) # 1812-1829.

I. Questionnaire

Rate each of the statements below using the following scale:
1 = strongly disagree
2 = disagree
3 = somewhat disagree & somewhat agree
4 = agree
5 = strongly agree

A. Faith (# 1814-1816)

___ 1. Do I believe in God, in all that he has said and revealed to us, and all that
Holy Church proposes for our belief, because he is truth itself?
___ 2. Do I freely commit my entire self to God in faith?
___ 3. Do I seek to know and do God’s will?
___ 4. Do I have a living faith that works through charity? (cf. Rom 1:17; Gal
5:6)
___ 5. Do I keep the faith, live on it, profess it, confidently bear witness to it
and spread it? (cf. Jas 2:26; Mt 10:32-33)
___ 6. Is my faith full of hope and love?

B. Hope (# 1817-1821)

___ 1. Do I desire the Kingdom of heaven and eternal life as my happiness,
placing my trust in Christ’s promises and relying not on my own strength,
but on the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit?
___ 2. Do I hold fast to the confession of my hope without wavering because he
who promised is faithful? (cf. Heb 10:23)
___ 3. Do I hope, with the grace of God, to persevere to the end and to obtain
the joy of heaven, as God’s eternal reward for the good works
accomplished with the grace of Christ? (cf. Rom 8:28-30; Mt 7:21)
___ 4. Does my aspiration for happiness, which God has placed in the heart of
all, inspire and purify my activities so as to order them to the Kingdom of
heaven?
___ 5. Am I easily discouraged?
___ 6. Does hope preserve me from selfishness and lead me to the happiness
that flows from charity?
___ 7. Am I able to sustain my joy and patience even under trial? (cf. Rom
12:12)
___ 8. Do I express and nourish my hope in prayer, especially the “Our Father”
which is the summary of everything that hope leads us to desire?
___ 9. Do I pray in hope that all be saved? (1 Tim 2:4)
___ 10. Do I long to be united with Christ in the glory of heaven? (cf. St. Teresa
of Avila, Excl. 15:3)

C. Charity (# 1822-1829)

___ 1. Do I love God above all things for his own sake?
___ 2. Do I love my neighbor as myself for the love of God and in imitation of
Jesus?
___ 3. Do I abide in Christ’s love by keeping his commandments? (Jn 15:9-10;
cf. Mt 22:40; Rom 13:8-10)
___ 4. Do I love even my enemies?
___ 5. Do I love children and the poor as Christ himself? (cf. Mt 5:44; Lk 10:27-
37; Mk 9:37)
6. Am I …
___ jealous?
___ boastful?
___ arrogant?
___ rude?
___ insistent on my own way?
___ irritable?
___ resentful?
___ impatient?
___ unkind?
___ rejoicing at what is wrong? (1 Cor 13:4-7)
___ 7. Do I follow God’s commands out of love for him? (cf. St. Basil)


II. Reflection

1. What theological virtue is my strength? Why?


2. How can I share this strength in the service of my family and community?


3. What theological virtue is my weakness? Why?


4. What do I need to do to develop this theological virtue?


5. Reflect on this passage:

“If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. [2] And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and If I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. [3] If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

“... [8] Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end…. [13] And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.” (1 Cor 13:1-3, 8 & 13).

6. Pray and memorize this prayer by St. Arnold Janssen, SVD which summarizes the theological virtues:

“O God, Eternal Truth, we believe in You.
O God, our strength and salvation, we trust in You,
O God, infinite goodness, we love You with all our hearts.

You sent the Word into the world as our savior, make us all one with Him.
Fill us with the Spirit of Christ, that we may proclaim Your name everywhere. Amen.”