Fortitude calls us to demonstrate Joseph’s silent strength

 

Deacon Kevin Gingras

Dec 21, 2025

4th Sunday of Advent

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/122125.cfm

Isaiah 7:10-14   Psalm 24:1-2, 3-4, 5-6

Romans 1:1-7    Matthew 1:18-24

So far in our Cardinal Virtue homily series, we have heard about Temperance - the regulating of our desires and appetites for created goods.  Next was Prudence - The ability to discern the true good and the right means to achieve it.  Last week was Justice - giving each person their due and fulfilling duties to God, others, and society. This week, we will discuss the Cardinal Virtue of Fortitude. 

Let’s start right off with what the Catechism of the Catholic Church says in paragraph 1808:

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, even fear of death, and to face trials and persecutions. It disposes one even to renounce and sacrifice his life in defense of a just cause. "The Lord is my strength and my song."  "In the world you have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." 

The Catechism never says it will allow you to not have fear, but when you do have fear, fortitude helps you overcome it.

Of course, the first thing that popped into my head was in Star Wars, when Luke tried to lift his spaceship out of the swamp using the force and failed, claiming it’s too big. Yoda scolds Luke, saying,

Size matters not. Look at me; judge me by my size, do you? Hmm? And well you should not.

Well, Yoda is right, the virtue of Fortitude is not made stronger by going to Planet Fitness and pumping iron.  This virtue is strengthened by prayer and reaching out to the Holy Spirit for guidance and help.  This virtue grows most with true love of Jesus, and we can see that in our Scripture readings today.  We see three main men today: Ahaz, Paul, and Joseph.  Two illustrated extreme, but different types of Fortitude, and one failed miserably.  

Ahaz looked to his own power and not to God, so if you guessed Ahaz as our failure today, then you guessed right! In our reading from Isaiah, Ahaz was told to trust in God, and if he did, the oncoming army would not destroy the city.  God said he would give Ahaz a sign, but Ahaz didn’t want the sign; he wanted to trust in himself and perhaps try to ally with another nation.

Let’s look at some of Ahaz’s deeds:

• He allied with the pagan king of Assyria 
• Created a pagan altar just like the king of Assyria had
• Because of the pagan altar, Ahaz desecrated the true temple with sacrifices to the gods of Damascus on this new altar 
• He moved the altar of the Lord to the side to make way for this pagan altar
• Ahaz removed the royal entryway of the temple and the Sabbath canopy as well.  He also destroyed the temple furnishings
• Ahaz also sacrificed some of his VERY OWN children to these pagan gods.

I won’t go into too much detail about Paul. I think we are familiar with his writings and the fact that, after his sinful persecution of Christians, he had a change of life and turned to God, demonstrating his great Fortitude.

Lastly, Joseph, who quietly followed the will of God and is never quoted in scripture.  Joseph trusted and followed God’s will even when it was hard.

Let’s look at some of Joseph’s accomplishments:

• Scripture tells us he was a righteous man
• He sought to divorce Mary quietly so as not to subject her to a trial and the death penalty.
• He listened to the Angel of God and took Mary, the Mother of God, as his wife.
• He named the child Jesus as the angel instructed.
• He became the foster father of the Son of God!
• Joseph protected Jesus and Mary and again listened to an angel and went to Egypt when he found out Herod was looking to kill the Christ child.

What about us? Fortitude, for us, doesn’t have to be on such a grand scale as helping to raise the Son of God or martyrdom.  For us, it is simply facing life's difficulties with steadfastness, not just in great deeds, but in daily perseverance.  It can be choosing what is difficult but right; over what is easy yet wrong.  It’s our daily struggle in resisting temptations.  Our Fortitude calls us to the foot of the cross when we are suffering, staying by God’s side when enduring hardship.  Fortitude calls us to stand up for and respect life in all its stages, even as our society preaches a culture of death. Fortitude calls us to stand up for the marginalized, the poor and the destitute. 

Sometimes, especially for me, Fortitude calls us to demonstrate Joseph’s silent strength as a spouse and parent, always following the will of God.

Ask the Holy Spirit for guidance towards Fortitude this week to help us live out the words of Pope Leo:

Here is the secret of the movement of the human heart: returning to the source of its being, delighting in the joy that never fails, that never disappoints. No one can live without a meaning that goes beyond the contingent, beyond what passes away

For who can lay hands on the LORD’s anointed and remain unpunished?

Deacon Kevin Gingras

Feb 20, 2020

7th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Today's Readings

Today a good topic for our homily is obviously - VENGEANCE!  Or perhaps maybe lack of vengeance.  Mercy and forgiveness, yeah, that’s better. Let's talk about mercy and forgiveness instead.

We begin with David and Saul.  King Saul was very jealous of David for many reasons but the biggest reason we can read in 1 Samuel 18:7:

At the approach of Saul and David, on David’s return after striking down the Philistine, women came out from all the cities of Israel to meet Saul the king, singing and dancing, with tambourines, joyful songs, and stringed instruments. The women played and sang: “Saul has slain his thousands, David his tens of thousands.”

King Saul did not like that song and the bible tells us how Saul knew the kingship wasn’t far from David and he became jealous, insanely jealous.

Long story short, King Saul begins to chase David all over the place and that is what brings us to today’s first reading where David spares Saul’s life.  This wasn’t the first time David spared Saul either.

Saul is asleep and all his soldiers as well, apparently a very deep sleep, and David and Abishai are able to get right up to King Saul.  Here is David’s moment.

Abishai whispered to David: “God has delivered your enemy into your grasp this day. Let me nail him to the ground with one thrust of the spear; I will not need a second thrust!” But David said to Abishai, “Do not harm him, for who can lay hands on the LORD’s anointed and remain unpunished?”

David shows mercy to Saul and refuses to kill the LORD’s anointed.  Probably a smart move as David will soon be king so his mercy over vengeance is good teaching for his followers and to keep King David from being nailed to the ground with a spear!  

But why mercy, why didn’t David exact his vengeance that day?

God designed us.  God knows us.  God; since he designed and knows us, knows what is good for us and what is also not so good for us.  God knows that a vengeful disposition is filled with hate and anger and that is not good for us!

We should just trust God but since we live in a fallen world perhaps you will trust WebMD.

WebMD lists the following health problems related to long-term anger:

• High blood pressure

• Heart problems

• Headaches

• Skin disorders

• Digestive problems

It even states that “unchecked anger also can be linked to crime, abuse, and other violent behavior”.

Ok, so if you don't trust God (whom you should), and you don't trust WebMD then we can look at one more example.

Even Master Yoda from the Star Wars sagas knew this well.  He said:

Fear is the path to the dark side…fear leads to anger…anger leads to hate…hate leads to suffering.

King Saul feared David would take over as King, Saul was angered by the woman’s song.  Saul got angry at David.  Saul hated David.  Saul suffered because of it.

God, however, does not hate or exact vengeance, he justly judges but does not hate.  God can’t hate because God is love!  We are made in his image, we are made not to hate, but to love.

St . Paul writes in his letter to the Corinthians: 

Just as we have borne the image of the earthly one, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly one.

Our Baptism removes the earthly one's sin, the original one’s sin - Adam’s sin - and grafts us to the Heavenly one, the Holy One - to Christ as well as His Catholic Church and that can never be undone or taken away.

We must strive to be like God and show mercy and to do that we must also forgive.  It’s not easy for us.  Sometimes the hardest person to forgive can be yourselves! Even though we have been forgiven of Original Sin we live in a fallen world and concupiscence still remains.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church states:

Baptism, by imparting the life of Christ's grace, erases original sin and turns a man back towards God, but the consequences for nature, weakened and inclined to evil, persist in man and summon him to spiritual battle.

Concupiscence is the word of the day, not the WORDLE of the day, that can only be 5 letters.  Concupiscence is an inclination towards evil.  It’s what can make some sins, some evils look attractive.

Again, if I may quote Yoda.  Luke Skywalker asks him:

Is the Dark Side stronger?

Yoda replies:

No… no… no. Quicker, easier, more seductive.

Yoda was a pretty good little green theologian in the Star Wars series.  Yoda seemed to have an understanding of concupiscence.

I suppose I should finally quote today’s gospel and there Jesus tells us that we must:

love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.

It’s not easy but it is doable and we have but one person to look to for the perfect example of this, Jesus Christ.

Saint Philip Neri says this very eloquently:

”If a man finds it very hard to forgive injuries, let him look at a Crucifix, and think that Christ shed all His Blood for him, and not only forgave His enemies, but even prayed His Heavenly Father to forgive them also. Let him remember that when he says the Our Father, every day, instead of asking pardon for his sins, he is calling down vengeance on himself.”