Gifts of the Holy Spirit: the Gift of Fortitude

The Gift of Fortitude is the gift of the Holy Spirit that strengthens our will to choose what is right and good especially when it becomes difficult

The Gifts of the Holy Spirit empower us to deepen our intimacy with God and to participate in His Divine Life. Three of the Gifts enhance our will – our ability to choose what is good even when the choice gets difficult: Piety, Fortitude, and Fear of the Lord. These gifts strengthen our ability to choose the ultimate good with the strength of the Holy Spirit.

The Gift of Fortitude

The Gift of Fortitude is the gift of the Holy Spirit that strengthens our will to choose what is right and good especially when it becomes difficult. It is especially the help of the Holy Spirit to give us the firm intention to achieve the ultimate good (Heaven).

What does this mean in practical terms?

1. The natural virtue of fortitude is a firmness of mind to do good and endure evil (for the sake of a good). The Gift of Fortitude is the Holy Spirit’s help to strengthen our mind even beyond human limitations so that we may achieve eternal good.

2. The gift of fortitude helps us to grow in the virtues (fruits) of patience and perseverance. Patience is the ability to endure evils or difficulties while we wait for something good. Perseverance is the ability to keep working for what is good despite the difficulties we face.

3. When the Holy Spirit takes us beyond the limits of our own courage, He also teaches us radical trust in God. That’s why the Gift of Fortitude is closely tied to the theological virtue of Hope.

The Gift of Fortitude is active in all of us, but it is especially strong in some Christians. Saint Pope Pius V exercised and used the Gifts of the Holy Spirit, especially the Gift of Fortitude. He was pope right after the Council of Trent and it fell on him to initiate many of the reforms to correct the errors that started Martin Luther down the path of the Reformation. While Martin Luther and other “reformers” revolted and broke away from the Church, St. Pope Pius V led the true reform of the Church. “He revised the Roman missal and the breviary, issued the Roman Catechism, reformed the Roman Curia, called for the establishment of seminaries in every diocese and appointed bishops whom he believed would be examples of authentic pastoral service to their people” (McGonigle). This often meant fighting a war on two fronts – people within the Church who opposed his legitimate reforms on one front and the Protestants who fought to revise the Church rather than reform it on the other front. Not only did St. Pope Pius V face these challenges head-on, he also showed great love for the poor, another way that he bravely led the Church back to its Gospel origins.

Your Challenge to Cooperate With the Gifts of the Holy Spirit

Your challenge is to examine your own life and see how the Gift of Fortitude is active. Have you had times when you had to rely on God’s strength to get your through some suffering or to help you stick with a decision to do good when it got really difficult? Please share your experience in the comments below!

If you’d like help and support cooperating with grace and building a stronger spiritual life as a Catholic layperson, I want to invite you to check out the special opportunity below that  I picked out for you. I think you’ll really get a lot out of it!

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