David Issac defines the virtue of fortitude as being, “ In situations which make it difficult to improve, a courageous person resists harmful influences, withstands difficulties and strives to act positively to overcome obstacles and undertake great deeds.” In simpler words, courage is not being fearless but rather sacrificing yourself for prudent and just goals. It is about defending and protecting what is morally right in a manner that is not seeking to feed one's pride and ego but is done out of sacrificial love.
Courage doesn’t pertain to only great moments of sacrifice or incredibly difficult situations but can also, and most often, be the little challenges of our ever day. The things we do each day that require self-giving grow into a great love. With each passing day, those small moments where you put others before yourself build on top of each other and create an individual who is capable of demonstrating great courage. For courage is not about seeking recognition, but seeking to do what is right out of love for God and others. We demonstrate courage in numerous ways throughout our daily life. Raising children takes courage. Caring for an elderly family member takes courage. Talking to a loved one about a difficult subject takes courage. Studying for final exams takes courage. Being a single parent takes courage. Seeking the love of your life takes courage. All these examples take courage, but they also are acts of courage that require even smaller acts on a daily basis.
Taking care of children requires changing diapers, feeding, protecting them from harm, teaching, and comforting. All of these actions require a sacrifice of one's time, energy, and attention. Being a mother or father requires sacrificial love that is always placing the child before themselves. Sacrificial love is having the courage to be a parent that loves unconditionally and selflessly each and every day. The easy thing is to not be a parent, but how unfulfilling of a life that would be. Having the courage to raise a family, with each small act of fortitude that is made each day, is what true bravery is all about. The same goes for caring for an elderly family member or being a single parent. You are placing the needs of others before your own and that comes with small and large acts of sacrifice. Those acts take courage, they take the courage to fight our own desires, temptations, and laziness. Those small acts of courage we exhibit every day require endurance.
Alexandre Havard said, “ Endurance is the essence of courage.” Courage isn’t just about acting in a brave manner, it is also about refraining from acting. It is about enduring and being prudent in judging when is the time to act and speak and when is the time to remain silent. Endurance can be very difficult because it does require self-control, patience, and fortitude. It can be very easy to quickly lash out at someone who accuses us of something false or to lose our temper in moments of frustration, stress, annoyance, and anger. However, having the ability to control our emotions and reactions to difficult situations allows us to grow stronger and capable of exhibiting great courage. We must defend ourselves and others from evil and wrongdoing, but it is important that we do not become hasty to right the wrong. There are moments when we must endure great pain and suffering before we are ready to take action. The example of having issues with a friend or family member is one that most people experience at some point in their life. You often hear relationship advice of, “ don’t speak out of anger.” and how this more often than not brings negative consequences. Many times in these cases we must endure the pain of a deteriorating relationship that is struggling to survive because it is the right thing to do, in the case of a mother and child. Unless there is imminent harm being done to one party, sometimes enduring the hardships of a relationship is necessary in order for it to survive. It takes endurance to make a marriage work. It takes endurance to graduate college. It takes endurance to transition into empty nesters. Each day, not just in each of our relationships, but also in our tasks and responsibilities we exhibit endurance. We endure the pains of losing a child, a friend, or a loved one. We endure the struggles of being a mother or father. We endure the worries of finances and health issues. When we endure the suffering that comes with the many hardships of life, then we grow stronger in courage. You see courage is not something you can just act on, it is something that is learned. Through daily acts that require some level of fortitude, we train ourselves to become soldiers who fight for the good and for the will of God.
With endurance comes patience. Being patient towards the struggles of life, towards the difficulties helps not just strengthen our character but also our hearts. The virtue of patience is what helps us to take “the physical and moral sufferings without the sadness of spirit or downheartedness.” Oh, how many people suffer from this because they simply do not have the patience to endure. If only more people were willing to be patient with others, with their struggles and with life, then how much more peace they would hold in their hearts. Because there are so many individuals who yearn for instant satisfaction and gratification out of life and relationships, our world is plagued by depression and anxiety that has so many people suffering. They are suffering because they seek to instantly please themselves and are insensitive towards others. If patience could be practiced more, our world would be one filled with mature individuals who respect and understand one another and are always seeking to help those in need. Patience requires putting our needs on hold so that we may care for others. Patience is being able to have the internal strength to suppress our desires in order to await an even greater good. Patience is fortitude.
Fortitude comes with great power, the power to put others before ourselves and to defend what is right is one that can and will always defeat evil. When we choose to practice the virtue of fortitude in small ways each and every day we grow stronger and braver. Through endurance, we teach ourselves to stand firm in our beliefs and morals during challenging times. We learn to embrace patience and to seek first God’s will and his mission. Through patience and endurance, we become wiser and more prudent in tackling the challenges that are both big and small. We learn to be strong individuals who defend what is just and the truth. When we do this, we are capable of standing up against greater feats and challenges with more confidence in ourselves and with greater love in our hearts. When we practice fortitude we grow even more courageous and capable of defending what is right, we grow even more powerful in combating the world.
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