Cardinal Virtues in Focus : Why It Matters to Think and Act Well

If you could time travel and start life all over again, how would you live it? We all have past regrets, but also lessons learned. Unless we develop good habits, we fall into either excesses or defects. Whether it’ s about work, food, relationship, health, sex, or business, we need to make right choices.

Classical Greek philosophy and Christian Ethics point to us the tools we need to live a good and righteous life: prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance. These are called cardinal virtues (Latin cardo-hinge) for they serve as the foundation of a good moral life.

At a time when moral relativism is the order of the day, when the sense of sin is somehow lost, we need to go back to the basics. The book you hold in your hands takes up this task. Deep and engaging,  it illustrates the moral principles with down-to-earth examples, showing the perennial relevance of the cardinal virtues. Beyond that, the  author invites the reader to take a moral stand in life.

Fr. Henry Bocala is a priest of the Prelature of Opus Dei working as a Chaplain and Spiritual Director in Manhattan, New York. A Doctor of Canon Law from the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome, he is a lecturer and the author of several books on Christian ethics and spirituality. He carried out pastoral work in Israel, Spain, Italy, South Africa, Australia, and the Philippines before moving to the United States. Prior to his sacerdotal ordination, Fr. Bocala worked as a freelance journalist and legislative staff at the Philippine Congress. He is also an award-winning artist.