FORTITUDE

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Fortitude is a virtue. 
It is one of four cardinal virtues.  
It is also known as courage or bravery.

Fortitude is about overcoming fear in order to do the right thing, 
even when we do not want to.

Fortitude prompts us to take action, to keep going, 
even when we’re threatened by significant suffering and loss.  
Because we know that the good we are pursuing and protecting 
is more important than the good we are risking.


Transcript - 


FEAR








FEAR OF DEATH

  • The primary human fear is the fear of death because death represents the loss of every created good, everything in this world.
  • That’s why our Lord says that no one has greater love than this, to lay down his life for his friend. Because in laying down our lives, we are laying down all earthly goods at our disposal.
  • So to be really brave, we can’t be dominated by a fear of death. If we are, then as the book of Hebrews says, we will be kept in slavery to the devil all our lives.
  • But if we are willing to die and lose all earthly goods for the right cause, then we should be willing to lose some earthly goods for the right cause too.

OVERCOMING FEAR


To really be brave, 

  • we have to look around at everything we care about – family, friends, job, reputation, health, financial security
  • and we have to ask God to give us the grace 
  • so that, if need be, we can do the right thing even if it means letting go of the things that matter deeply to us.

FORTITUDE DOES NOT MEAN FEARLESSNESS

  • Quite the contrary, if somebody is fearless, it means he doesn’t have fortitude. 
  • That’s because fear is based on love. 
  • The only thing that makes any of us afraid is when there’s something we love, and we’re afraid to lose it. 
  • This means that if you had no fears, it would be a sign that you had no love. 
  • And having no love isn’t a virtue, it’s a vice.

FEAR IN THE RIGHT ORDER MAKES A PERSON COURAGEOUS
  • What makes a person brave isn’t that they have no fears. 
  • It’s that their fears, like their loves, have been put in the right order 
  • So that you love and fear losing greater things over lesser things. 
  • And then you are willing to pursue and cling to the greater goods
  • Even if it means losing the lesser goods.

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At the end of the day, courage is an expression of prudence and prudence says to prioritize what matters most. 

So, courage is the willingness to sacrifice lesser things for the sake of greater.
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LOVE
LOVING MOST THAT WHICH IS BEST

It is about having the rightly ordered priorities.

  • What matters most? 
  • What do you love the most? 
  • What do you fear losing the most? 
    • Do you worry most about your career? 
    • Or your kids? 
    • Or finances? 
    • Or your reputation? 
    • Or health?
If what worries us most is not God, then our priorities are out of whack. In which case we are going to have a hard time being brave. 

But if we want union with God most and we fear losing him the most, then we have the beginning of wisdom and the beginning of courage.

Scripture says: “the beginning of wisdom is fear of the Lord.”

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God is the most important thing there is. 
The best thing. 
God matters most.  
God is what we love lost.  
God is what we fear losing the most.
So we should love Him the most.  
We should fear losing Him the most.
We can only be brave if we prioritize God above all things. 
That will make us fear losing Him the most. 
And that will make us willing to sacrifice everything for Him, if need be.
And this, is the virtue of Fortitude.

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ORDERING OUR FEARS

ORDERING OUR LOVE

We have to love created things. Our lives, our kids, our friendships, the jobs, the material goods God has blessed us with. 


It’s good to love those things, and it’s right that we should fear losing them. 


If we didn’t fear losing them, it wouldn’t be a sign of courage, it would just be a lack of appreciation. 


But we have to know that true happiness and salvation are only to be found in God. 

The things of this world will eventually let us down and leave us empty. God won’t.  


The created persons in our lives can’t save us and we can’t save them. But God can.

So however much we love created things, we have to love God more. 


However much we fear losing some good thing, we have to fear losing God more.

Once we have those loves and fears prioritized, we will know how and when to sacrifice. 


Because virtue is just getting our loves in order.

Love the lesser things less 

and love the greater things more

for virtue is rightly ordered love.



This post is an excerpt from Daily Rosary Meditation.

[https://www.dailyrosarymeditations.com/]

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