4 Myths About the Cardinal Virtue of Fortitude

Fortitude, the cardinal virtue of moral courage, is an important but largely neglected part of spiritual growth. We often assume that some people are born with fortitude and other people are not. Or we assume that courage is only necessary for specific, limited circumstances. So let’s begin our exploration of fortitude by busting a few myths.

Myth 1: Fortitude means never being afraid

The cardinal virtue of fortitude is a response to fear, not the absence of fear. More specifically fortitude is the virtue of fighting for what is right and good even when things get difficult. Fear is the emotion we experience in the face of not being able to get what is good (evil). So when we think we might lose the good, we experience fear. That’s when fortitude becomes necessary.

Myth 2: Fortitude means doing crazy things like bungee jumping out of airplanes

The virtue of fortitude is the virtue of courageously pursuing the good. If there is no authentic good to be pursued, there is no real fortitude. Sure, you could call and airplane bungee jumper brave. But you may also call her foolhardy. Foolhardiness is the vice on the other side of cowardice. It means needlessly endangering a good (like your life). True fortitude is always at the service of getting what is truly good.

Myth 3: The Cardinal Virtue of Fortitude is only for warriors

The cardinal virtue of fortitude is exercised when we fight for what is right and good within our society. This is usually the realm of our warrior selves, where we need to stand against external human opposition. People who are arrested for peaceful protest, or who stand against ridicule or anger from passersby while they defend the right to life or the freedom of public religious expression are definitely practicing fortitude. But that doesn’t mean that fortitude is not a daily virtue.

Pope Benedict XVI wrote about fortitude in his encyclical on hope. We will explore the connection between these two virtues more when we discuss supernatural fortitude. But in this encyclical, our Holy Father points out three realms of fortitude. The first is the external realm, which we just covered. The second realm is the courage to look inward, to honestly examine our lives and identify our weaknesses, failings, and sins. The third realm is the courage to change. I can often take greater courage to look honestly inside and to bring what is hidden in darkness into the light. It takes ultimate courage to give ourselves over God, to cooperate with grace and to go through the crucible of deep conversion.

The Virtue of Fortitude is as much internal as it is external.

Myth 4: You are either born brave or not

It is true that some people just seem to be born with the passion and fearlessness to change the world. Believe it or not, even these people struggle to apply fortitude to all areas of your life. Take the example of Father Corapi. Nobody would doubt that he was brave in his proclamation of the truth. He stood up against popular opinion and even against some bishops when he needed to. He stood for what was true and right in public. But he ran into trouble in his personal life when his past demons caught up to him. I do not know his heart, but I know fallen human nature. Our past sins catch up to us when we lack the courage to face ourselves and see where our sinful desires are really leading us. As a response to his fall into sin, Father Corapi attempted to compensate for what was perhaps a lack of fortitude in his interior life by taking on the “establishment” of bishops in his short-lived Black Sheepdog campaign. I do not condemn Father Corapi for falling into his old sins. But I do think we can and should learn from his experience.

The truth is that none of us is born with the fortitude that we need for every dimension of our life. Fortitude is an acquired virtue. That means we have to work at developing it in our lives. We cannot assume that we have it. We cannot assume that if we don’t have it we are just victims of fate. We need a conscious plan of growth, and that plan should include the cardinal virtues.

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Brought to you by Jeffrey S. Arrowood at From the Abbey, dedicated to helping you rediscover the JOY of learning and living your faith so you can grow in intimacy with God.