St. Thomas Aquinas says: “Praise be to Jesus.”

“You are asking in your heart how each virtue can be a separate step on the stairway to holiness. It is true–all the virtues must come together in the soul in order to achieve perfection and harmony with God's Divine Will; however, not all virtue is obtained at once. Virtue is a combination of the free will in cooperation with the graces received through the Heart of Mary.”

“In order to increase in virtue, the soul must first acknowledge his shortcomings in the virtues. Then he needs to pray to overcome these faults. For instance, if the soul is given over to impatience, then he needs to pray for the grace to become patient; practice patience, and Our Heavenly Mother will gradually give him a strong gift of the virtue of patience.”

“So you see why self-knowledge is so important. Without it, the soul cannot continue his journey into the Divine Will. Every virtue has its counter in sin, which battles against conformity to the Divine Will. Each soul has its own individual battle to fight–its own flaws in virtue–its own strengths and weaknesses. Every step towards perfection in virtue is opposed by evil. Satan cringes at the thought of personal holiness. This is why it is important to pray for yourself, as well as others.”