Duration of Virtues After this Life

When a good man dies, do moral virtues remain in the separated soul? Justice remains, for (Wisd. 1:15), “Justice is perpetual and immortal.” The moral virtues which regulate the passions remain in the separated soul in their essence asperfections of the soul, but they no longer regulate irregularities of appetite; in the future life of the virtuous soul there are no irregularities of any kind.

The intellectual virtues remain in the separated soul,but in a manner which renders their use more perfect than it was during earthly life. In the present life, man must recur to sense images (in phantasy or imagination) as he uses acquired knowledge. But the separated soul will not have the service of the senses or their images, nor will the soul require that service.

Faith which pertains to “things that appear not,” cannot continue after the things actually appear. In thenext life, faith will be fulfilled in the more perfect habit of vision, and will be supplanted by vision.

And hope, which looks on to a good not yet possessed,can have no place in the soul which possesses all that it once hoped for. In heaven, hope will be crowned with fulfillment, and will cease to exist as a specific habit or virtue of the soul.

Not even remnants or elements of faith and hope can remain in the soul in heaven, for these virtues are simple habits,and they are either present entirely or absent entirely.

But charity will remain in the separated soul in glory.St. Paul says (I Cor. 13:8), “Charity never fallethaway.” Charity will be fulfilled in heaven, not as faith is filled and supplanted by vision, not as hope is fulfilled andsupplanted by possession: charity will be fulfilled by being perfected in its own nature; that is, imperfect charity will become perfect charity.