Faith, hope and love: the virtues that make possible the relationship with God

The virtues of faith, hope and love, are the suitable means to relate to God because they give us God as He is. They offer a possibility to focus more on God, then merely on one’s effort.

Saint John of the Cross explains, “because virtues [of faith, hope and love] have the function of withdrawing the soul from all that is less than God. They consequently have the mission of joining it with God.  Without walking sincerely in the garb of these three virtues, it is impossible to reach perfect union with God through love” (John of the Cross, The Dark Night, Book II, Chapter 22, n. 11-12).

With the aid of these virtues, the aim of glorifying God will also be more secured, since, “[Faith, hope and love] darken and empty the soul of all things that its advancement along this spiritual road may be more secure. As we said, the soul is not united with God in this life through understanding, or through enjoyment, or through imagina­tion, or through any other sense; but only faith, hope and charity (ac­cording to the intellect, memory and will) can unite the soul with God in this life” (John of the Cross, The Ascent of Mount Carmel, Book II, Chapter 6, n.1).

This is not a difficult task for the person, since these virtues relate directly to God, and are infused in the individual through baptism, in order to help him or her to Glorifying God by acting as His a child, and to merit eternal life.

“The theological virtues relate directly to God. They dispose the Christian to live in relationship with the Holy Trinity. They have the One and Triune God for their origin, motive and object […].  They are infused by God in the souls of the faithful to make them capable of acting as his children and of meriting eternal life. They are the pledge of the presence of the Holy Spirit in the faculties of the Human being.”

Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 1812-1813.

Thus we can conclude that the discovery and actualisation of God’s will,

1. is a collaboration with a grace that originates in the Call of God for Union, and
2. the person needs to use supernatural means as a response.

According to John of the Cross, the most appropriate means to collaborate with God’s Call is an attitude of a living faith, which arouses hope and works through love. These theological virtues have the function of withdrawing the soul from all that which is less than God, and thus consequently have the mission of joining it with God.  As a result, they offer a possibility to focus more on God, then merely on one’s effort.

In short:

The virtue of faith darkens and empties the intellect of the person from its natural understanding, and therefore prepares him or her for the union with God. By faith, the person seeking God’s will becomes able to believe in God and freely commits oneself to him.

The virtue of hope empties and withdraws the memory of the person from all the earthly possessions. Hope helps the person to keep focused on the ultimate aim: the union with God in Christ. Through hope, the person is able to desire and wait from God eternal union.

The virtue of love empties and annihilates the affections and appetites of the person from that which is not God and centres them on him alone through love.  Through the virtue of love, the person is able to live Christ’s own command to love God above all things and one’s neighbour as oneself for the love of God (cf., Matthew 22:37-39; Mark 12:30-31; Luke 10:27-29).