'A Christian Without Courage Is A Useless Christian', Pope Francis

Pope Francis on Wednesday dedicated his general audience catechesis to the virtue of fortitude, observing that it consists of the ability to live with courage and to confront the inner — and outer — turmoils of life.

“A Christian without courage, who does not turn his own strength to good, who does not bother anyone, is a useless Christian,” the pope declared during the general audience held on a windy, overcast morning in St. Peter’s Square.

The pope opened his reflection by chronicling the development of fortitude, pointing to its philosophical roots in antiquity as well as its development in the Christian tradition.

“Ancient thought did not imagine a man without passions; he would be a stone,” the pope said. The pope linked this idea to Christ, noting that he is not a “diaphanous” or “ascetic” God but instead expressed the full range of human emotions. 

Yet the pope cautioned that passions, while “not necessarily the residue of a sin,” need to be tempered, or “educated, channeled, purified with the water of baptism, or better with the fire of the Holy Spirit.” 

The pope noted that fortitude develops in a twofold manner, being composed of both an inner, or passive, dimension as well as an active, or outer, orientation that allows humans to respond to adversity. 

“Fortitude is first and foremost a victory against ourselves,” the pope said. “Most of the fears that arise within us are unrealistic and do not come true at all.”

“Ancient thought did not imagine a man without passions; he would be a stone,” the pope said. The pope linked this idea to Christ, noting that he is not a “diaphanous” or “ascetic” God but instead expressed the full range of human emotions. 

Yet the pope cautioned that passions, while “not necessarily the residue of a sin,” need to be tempered, or “educated, channeled, purified with the water of baptism, or better with the fire of the Holy Spirit.” 

The pope noted that fortitude develops in a twofold manner, being composed of both an inner, or passive, dimension as well as an active, or outer, orientation that allows humans to respond to adversity. 

“Fortitude is first and foremost a victory against ourselves,” the pope said. “Most of the fears that arise within us are unrealistic and do not come true at all.”