id to have the vice of cursing. Faith,
hope, and charity are infused by God into our souls, and are therefore
called infused virtues, to distinguish them from the virtues we acquire.

107 Q. What is faith?
A. Faith is a divine virtue by which we firmly believe the truths which
God has revealed.

"A divine virtue" is one that is heavenly or holy. Faith is the habit of
always believing all that God has revealed and the Church teaches.
"Firmly," that is, without the slightest doubt. "Revealed," that is,
made known to us. Revelation is the collection of all the truths that
God has made known to us. But why do we believe? Because we clearly see
and know the truth of what is revealed? No, but because God reveals it;
we believe it though we cannot see it or even understand it. If we see
it plainly, then we believe it rather because we see it than because God
makes it known to us. Suppose a friend should come and tell you the
church is on fire. If he never told you lies, and had no reason for
telling you any now, you would believe him--not because you know of the
fire, but because he tells you; but afterwards, when you see the church
or read of the fire in the papers, you have proof of what he told you,
but you believed it just as firmly when he told you as you do
afterwards. In the same way God tells us His great truths and we believe
them; because we know that since God is infinitely true He cannot
deceive us or be deceived. But if afterwards by studying and thinking we
find proof that God told us the truth, we do not believe with any
greater faith, for we always believed without doubting, and we study
chiefly that we may have arguments to prove the truth of God's
revelations to others who do not believe. Suppose some person was
present when your friend came and said the church is burning, and that
that person would not believe your friend. What would you do? Why,
convince him that what your friend said was true by showing him the
account of the fire in the papers. Thus learning does not change our
faith, which, as I have said, is not acquired by study, but is infused
into our souls by God. The little boy who hears what God taught, and
believes it firmly because God taught it, has as good a faith as his
teacher who has studied all the reasons why he should believe.

108 Q. What is hope?
A. Hope is a divine virtue by which we firmly trust that God will give
us eternal life and the means to obtain it.

"Eternal"--that is,