AUG. 16, 2007

The Virtue of Fortitude

“Be not afraid.” Why do these words of Jesus, frequently repeated by Pope John Paul II, seem so right for our generation?

Our late Holy Father certainly lived those words to the full. He also was convinced that they had particular relevance for us who are His friends and servants at the beginning of the 21st century.

Every generation of Christians has faced frightening opposition and debilitating fears, from the bloody persecutions of the first three centuries to the violent attacks of radical Islamic terrorists in Iraq and neighboring countries in our own time. But even more dangerous to our faith today are the timid rationalizations and the fears of commitment that are so prevalent in hedonistic societies like our own. What is badly needed, as John Paul II indicated, is the virtue of courageous living, i.e. the virtue of fortitude.

‘Like Sheep in the midst of wolves’

Christ gives a dramatic image of the place of Christians in the world. He tells us (Mt 10:16), “Behold, I am sending you like sheep in the midst of wolves.” These words of Jesus bring great comfort to those who meet fierce opposition as we seriously engage in the spiritual battles common to followers of Christ. But they are puzzling to non-believers and even to Christians who have not yet discovered and embraced the cost of discipleship; and they are a scandal to cafeteria Catholics who, by picking and choosing what beliefs they will “take seriously” and which ones they will “not accept,” avoid the cost of bearing witness to the tough yet defining truths of the Gospel in our day.

Jesus was “a sign of contradiction” (cf. Lk 2:34) for people during His earthly life; it should not be different for His followers in any age. That is why we need the virtue of fortitude in order to remain faithful to our baptismal promises and to the vocation and mission entrusted to us by Christ.

Fortitude helps us to avoid two extremes. On the one hand, it keeps us from cowardly giving in to the temptations of the devil and from avoiding our duties because they are unpopular and difficult. On the other hand, it tempers our inclinations towards self-destruction or foolish over-reaction as we deal with our own strong emotions of anger or fear. As Benedict Ashley writes in “Living the Truth in Love” (p. 256), “The virtue of courage like the virtue of moderation is a middle way between two extremes. We can yield too much to our appetite for fighting and then we have the vice of rashness, or we can be too weak in our fighting spirit and then we have cowardice. Of these, the second sin against the virtue of courage is the more common.”

Fear God, not man

Jesus frequently speaks about fear to His disciples. For example, in the brief passage Mt 10:26-31, He tells us three times that we should not fear and once that we should fear. Let us listen again to his words: “Therefore do not be afraid of them. Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known. What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light; what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna. Are not two sparrows sold for a small coin? Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father’s knowledge. Even all the hairs of your head are counted. So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.”

While Jesus tells us, three times, not to be afraid, one time He calls us to be afraid, i.e. to have a holy fear of God. There is a world of difference between these fears. As St. Hilary of Poitiers writes: “The fear of the Lord does not originate in terror, but is based on learnings; it has nothing to do with natural timidity, but is gained by observing the commandments, following the prescriptions of a blameless life and by acquiring knowledge of the truth… Our fear of God… is wholly rooted in love; in fact, the perfect love of God puts an end to terror… Fear produces obedience, not panic; submission [to God’s will] is the hallmark of fear” (Magnificat, June 2007, p. 69).

The virtue of fortitude actually builds on the fear of God. Unlike servile fear that cringes before threatening earthly forces stronger than ourselves, the fear of God gives us something stronger than servile fear; it motivates us to do God’s will and to avoid what harms our life-giving relationship with him. As the Old Testament Book of Sirach tells us (34:14), “He who fears the Lord is never alarmed, never afraid; for the Lord is His hope.”

Patient Endurance

While there are times when our fortitude is put to the test in rather dramatic ways, times when we have to bear public witness to unpopular truths or to defend the rights of persons snubbed or discounted in society, more often than not this virtue calls us to the daily effort of patient endurance in less public situations.

We find inspiration in the words of St. Paul to the Romans (5:3-5), “…we even boast of our afflictions, knowing that affliction produces endurance, and endurance, proven character, and proven character, hope.” Later in the same Letter, the Apostles exhorts (v. 12:12), “Rejoice in hope, endure in affliction, persevere in prayer.”

It takes great courage to persevere, day after day, in clinging to what is good and true, in fulfilling promises made in marriage or religious life, and in bearing patiently with one another’s weaknesses. But Jesus promises us (Lk 21:19), “By your perseverance you will secure your lives.”

With the fruits of the Holy Spirit (Cf. Gal 5:22) to help us, we can patiently endure without self-pity; we can persevere without complaining, we can even do what the Apostles did (Acts 5:41), “rejoicing that they had been found worthy to suffer dishonor for the sake of the name [of Jesus].”

God is my strength and my song

In Psalm 118 (vs. 14), we declare with joy, “The Lord is my strength and my song.” Those whose hearts are set on the pleasures of this world find these words to be total nonsense. But to Christian martyrs and to other friends of Christ who have tasted and seen the goodness of the Lord, they point to the heart of the Good News, faithful and loving communion with the Lord.

The blessings of living a courageous life out of love for Christ and of forging the virtue of fortitude are clearly spelled out in the Catechism of the Catholic Church (#1808), “Fortitude is the moral virtue that ensures firmness in difficulties and constancy in the pursuit of the good. It strengthens the resolve to resist temptations and to overcome obstacles in the moral life. The virtue of fortitude enables one to conquer fear, even fear of death, and to face trials and persecutions. It disposes one even to renounce and sacrifice his life in defense of a just cause.” As Jesus says (Jn 16:33), “In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world.”

Copyright 2007 The Catholic Sun.