Temperance (moderation or self control)
The Basics
Temperance allows us to control ourselves by maintaining balance in our lives. It keeps us from going to extremes. In everyday life the virtue of temperance allows us to enjoy the good things in life without so over-indulging that it becomes bad for us. The term “everything in moderation” teaches that finding balance is important to living a life of happiness
Reflection Questions
What are some good things that can be overdone?
Who is someone you know who lives a well-balanced life?
Is there a specific area in your life that you are in need
of self-control?
What are some sins that are attacks on temperance (sins that
take a something good to extremes)?
The Deep Side
Catechism of the Catholic Church Paragraph 1809
Temperance is the moral virtue that moderates
the attraction of pleasures and provides balance in the use of created goods.
It ensures the will’s mastery over instincts and keeps desires within the
limits of what is honorable. The temperate person directs the sensitive
appetites toward what is good and maintains a healthy discretion: “Do not
follow your inclination and strength, walking according to the desires of your
heart.” Temperance is often praised in the Old Testament: “Do not follow your
base desires, but restrain your appetites.” In the New Testament it is called
“moderation” or “sobriety.” We ought “to live sober, upright, and godly lives
in this world.”
"Complete abstinence is easier than perfect moderation" -St. Augustine of Hippo
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