Thought of the Day May 26, 2020 The Gift of Fortitude
Today,
we will reflect on Fortitude or Courage as a virtue, a gift of the Spirit, a
charism and a fruit.
The
human virtue of fortitude enables one to confront fear, uncertainty and
intimidation with a human strength that is inherent in each person. When a
person comes across a poisonous snake, the human instinct is to run away in
order to preserve one’s life.
The
gift of fortitude comes from the Spirit of God. In Baptism we became sons and
daughters of God, sharing in his own divine life. Throughout our life, Satan seeks
to tempt us away from relationship with God to alienation. The grace of
fortitude is given us each time we are tempted, so that we do not have to
depend solely on our own strength to avoid sin, but on the grace of God. This
gift also enables us to stand firm as a disciple/witness of Jesus Christ as we
live out our faith in daily life.
Fortitude reaches its perfection in the
charism of martyrdom. It was this charism which enable the myriads of martyrs
to face death rather than deny their faith in Jesus. They had the confidence in
faith that, in spite of the pain they would endure, they would overcome the
power of evil and enter into the everlasting presence of God. For, as St. John
says, He who was in them was greater than he who was outside.
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