“Awesome is God in his sanctuary, the God of Israel, he gives power and strength to his people. Blessed be God!” – Psalm 68:35
Previously, I have written about prudence and justice. In this column, we will look at fortitude (sometimes referred to as courage).
The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) 1808 defines fortitude as a “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 CCC goes on to mention how fortitude enables one to conquer fear.
Reread the definition from the CCC. Summing up the first sentence, we would probably think of perseverance. With the second sentence, we would probably think of patience. When we think of courage, we might think more of overcoming a fear.
In talking about fear, Peter Kreeft, in Practical Theology: Spiritual Direction from St. Thomas Aquinas, writes, “‘Fear’ in modern English can mean three different things, which St. Thomas distinguishes. First, is a fear of pain or suffering. … Second, it can be the fear of losing or offending a beloved friend, human or divine. This is ‘filial fear,’ the fear proper to a friend or lover. Third, it can mean deep, wondering reverence, or ‘awe’ at something immeasurably superior (like seeing an angel).”
With the first type of fear, which can be very broad, St. Thomas says there are two ways we can overcome it, one being practice. This requires repeated exposure to fearful things together with the opportunity and the motivation to rise above them. For example, if we consider jumping off a diving board, we would start with a smaller jump before moving on to higher boards.
The second way of overcoming such fear is courage from God. It is a particular gift of the Holy Spirit that we receive at baptism and is strengthened through confirmation. It is the disposition to suffer well, to bear the painful things that often come upon us when we’re doing the right thing.
With fear, St. Thomas principally has in mind the Christian martyrs. The martyrs were faced with a choice to renounce the name of Christ or die, and they chose the latter.
In the current daily Mass readings, we read about the Apostles in the temple preaching about Jesus. We read how the temple authorities were none too pleasant to them. They were evangelizing and exhibiting fortitude to keep going and courage to withstand the painful treatment they would receive.
When we think of evangelization, we might think that we do not have the skills to do it so we shouldn’t even attempt it. The Spirit’s gift of courage is necessary, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t discount the human ability of overcoming fear through practice.
Just as if we were to practice jumping off a diving board that is a few feet above the water before moving on to higher boards, we should practice evangelization in small ways first.
We must also think of it sometimes as quality versus quantity. Evangelization doesn’t require a lengthy dissertation about Jesus or His Church but often small, often spontaneous moments where your humanity (fear) doesn’t negate the divine courage to act.
As I close this column, I leave you with a quote from St. Teresa of Avila:
“It is a great help in our quest to have high aspirations, because often our actions begin with our thoughts and dreams. … It is the devil who makes us think that the lives and actions of the saints are to be admired but not imitated.
“If we do not limit our spiritual goals, we can with great confidence, little by little, reach those heights that by the grace of God many saints have reached. If they had never resolved to desire, and had never, little by little, acted upon that resolve, they would never have ascended so high.
“Like them we need to be humble but bold in our pursuit, trusting God and not ourselves. For our Lord seeks and loves courageous souls. Let us not fail to reach our spiritual destiny because we have been too timid, too cautious in our desires, because we sought too little.
“It is true that I might stumble for trying to do too much too soon, but it is also certain that I will never succeed if I hope for too little, or out of fear of failing start not at all.”