My son Brian mentioned Fortitude in his post

https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/lauriekelly2/journal yesterday, so I thought I would share some thoughts on Fortitude, the kind he is living right now as his wife Laurie continues her recovery.

Fortitude is a cardinal virtue, commonly called courage.  It is different from what much of what we think of as courage today. Fortitude allows us to overcome fear and to remain steady in our will in the face of obstacles, but it is always reasoned and reasonable.

In the Catechism of the Catholic Church we read, “Fortitude is the moral virtue that ensures firmness in difficulties and constancy in the pursuit of the good. It strengthens the resolve to resist temptations and to overcome obstacles in the moral life. The virtue of fortitude enables one to conquer fear ….”

Fortitude allows us to remain steady in following God’s plan for us even when the fog of this life makes God’s plan is hard to see.  Thomas Merton’s Thoughts on Solitude provide a path for us to follow:

My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. 

            I do not see the road ahead of me. 

            I cannot know for certain where it will end. 

            Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following your will

            does not mean that I am actually doing so. 

            But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. 

            And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. 

            I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. 

            And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road, though I may know nothing about it. 

            Therefore I will trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. 

            I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.” 

May the grace of God’s love sustain you today as it is sustains my son Brian.

May God Be Praised!