Conferences on the Virtues
By Fr. Bruno Cocuzzi, ocd
Number 21
The Virtue of Fortitude
as it relates to martyrdom
THE
ACT OF FORTITUDE: Martyrdom…
It really seems
strange to me that we can call the “passive experience” of being martyred an
“act”. We always (I always) associate
the notion of an act or deed with “doing something” in a
positive, overt way. Nevertheless,
suffering martyrdom is spoken of as the highest and most perfect exercise of
the virtue of Fortitude. (This virtue
is surely unique in that we can never practice it perfectly more than once!). But that only goes to prove that true
freedom lies within the will, and that an act of the will that imposes
“restraint”, i.e., issues in our “doing nothing” externally, is just as truly a
“positive” act as one that results in strenuous physical activity.
As you all
surely know by now, “martyr” is the Greek word for “witness”. A martyr is one who “gives testimony”. That is why certain saints have spoken of
the “martyrdom” of daily life. There
are so many instances each day wherein the ordinary Catholic (and for that
matter, any person of good will) can and does “witness” to the “truths”
he/she lives by. Whenever that is done
while experiencing a “deterrent” (concomitant pain or hardship to sense or ego)
that would prevent one from giving that “testimony” in word or deed, the virtue
of Fortitude is being practiced.
The
“definition” of Martyrdom…
Martyrdom is
the actual witness of the truth of the Christian Faith by choosing (the “act”
of the will) to endure death rather than to deny that Faith. We are told that for this, three elements
must be present.
1) Physical
death must really occur. The
martyr is the “perfect” witness to Christian truth because by willing to accept
death he/she “professes” that all created things are to be despised for the
sake of Christ. Or stated
negatively, whoever chooses (at a time when one MUST bear the supreme
witness to Christian truth) to remain in this life has not yet shown that
he/she despises all earthly things for the sake of Jesus, the Lord.
2) That
the death be inflicted out of hatred for the Christian Faith. That hatred is direct and explicit
when provoked by one or more “truths” of the Faith and indirect and implicit
when provoked by conduct that is an “expression” of Faith.
An
example of the former would be the ‘profession’ of faith by Stephen, the first
Christian martyr (cf Acts 7, 56-60); and of the latter the refusal of many of
the early Christian martyrs to “burn incense” or “sacrifice” to the gods of
pagan Rome. Still another example of
the latter would be the refusal to participate in a sinful act.
3) That
death be accepted willingly.
Thus if someone were to be killed by an enemy of the Christian Faith
suddenly and unexpectedly, without an opportunity to be aware of what was
occurring and to consent to death under those circumstances, we would be unable
to speak of martyrdom in the true sense.
Even though the
above is very clear and explicit, there are some shady areas.
Were an injury sufficient
to cause death be inflicted in a situation where conditions (2) and (3) are
present, but fail to bring about death because the life of the victim is
miraculously preserved, there would not be a true martyrdom, yet the merit
of martyrdom would be gained. An
example of that is St. John the Evangelist, who was thrown into a cauldron of
boiling oil but emerged, nevertheless unharmed.
Then too, we
celebrate the martyrdom of St. John the Baptist in our liturgical
calendar, even though, strictly speaking, conditions (2) and (3) above are not
verified. That is to say, his death
could not be directly related to his role as the providentially prepared and
appointed “witness” to Jesus as the Messiah, nor to a “profession of Faith” in
the “body” of revealed truth Jesus left us in virtue of His ministry of
teaching and example. Nor was he
offered the opportunity to choose between death and the denial of his Faith in
Jesus. As you recall, he was imprisoned
and later put to death because he reprimanded Herod for the serious sin of
living with his brother’s wife. To
justify his being honored as a martyr we have to interpret his condemnation of
Herod’s conduct as a “witness” to divinely revealed truth, and to remember that
Jesus is divine Truth Incarnate.
Furthermore, we have to see in the way St. John the Baptist
exercised his office of Precursor to the Messiah convincing evidence that
he would, if offered the opportunity, have accepted death rather than be
unfaithful to that office.
An especially
difficult case is that of Our Blessed Mother.
We speak of her as the Queen of Martyrs (cf. the Litany of
Loreto) even though in her case all three of the above conditions are
absent: actual physical death,
inflicted out of hatred for the Christian Faith, and with an opportunity to
avoid that death by a denial of the Faith.
In the case of
Our Lady, we must remember that the sword of sorrow that pierced her heart
caused her to suffer an emotional pain so “excruciating” that it would easily
have sufficed to take the life of any mere mortal. We must also believe that she had a sufficient foreknowledge of
the degree of suffering that would be the lot of the mother of the Christ, as a
result of the hatred, ignominy and rejection he would endure at the hands of
those He came to redeem, (how well she understood the prophecy of the Suffering
Servant of Isaiah), as to make it necessary for God’s messenger to solicit
her “consent”. Conditions (2) and (3)
were therefore implicit in her FIAT.
Another and
perhaps easier way to understand the fittingness of the title is to remember
that Jesus is indeed the King of Martyrs in the truest, fullest sense of
the word. And because Mary was so
closely allied with her Son in the work of redemption, in her title of
Co-redemptrix there is implicit the title of Queen of Martyrs.
The fact of
being “assimilated” to Jesus as King of Martyrs is very likely the reason why
the Church also honors as martyrs the Holy Innocents who were slaughtered by
Herod the Great. In their case, only
condition (3) above was lacking. But as
Our Lord Himself said: Whatever you do
to the least of My brethren, you do unto Me.
THE
EFFECTS OF MARTYRDOM…
The Church has
continued to teach from the very beginning that martyrdom is an imitation
of the Passion and death of Christ. Its
direct effect in the soul of the martyr, therefore, is to bring about
“justification”. This is true whether
the martyr is already baptized or not, whether the martyr is an adult or a
child. And so martyrdom has always been
called the Baptism of Blood.
However, in the case of an adult, a certain disposition of soul is
required, namely, “attrition”, that is, sorrow for sin on the grounds of fear
of loss of Heaven and of the pains of Hell.
[As you recall, attrition (imperfect contrition) is the necessary
requirement to have one’s grievous sins remitted in the Sacrament of Penance
(Reconciliation)].
However, the
effects of martyrdom bring about “total” justification. That is, it prepares the martyr for
immediate entry into heavenly bliss.
Therefore, not only does it remove all mortal sin and all venial sin,
but also all the “temporal punishment” due to sin. That is why Pope Innocent III was able to assert: He dishonors a martyr who prays for the
repose of his soul.
Since I am on
the subject of “punishment” it seems appropriate to repeat another constant
teaching of the Church from earliest times.
The merits of the Suffering and Death of Jesus, as applied to the soul
in the Sacrament of Baptism, removes 1) the “guilt” of Original Sin and 2) the
“eternal punishment” due to Original Sin and personal mortal sins. I suspect this doctrine on “punishment” is
not palatable to many Catholics in these present times. Nowadays we tend to think of punishment in
terms of “vindictiveness” or a “desire to hurt”. We ought to think instead of what our conduct “earns” or
“merits”. Then punishment is properly
seen as “just recompense”. Since
“redemption” is a notion taken from the world of “marketing”, that is, “buying
and selling”, likewise “punishment” should be thought of in the same
context: We get what we have paid for.
As everyone
familiar with the Ascent of Mount Carmel of St. John of the Cross knows,
all sin, even venial sin, stains and defiles the soul, disfigures and befouls
it. Since nothing impure can enter into
direct union with God, those stains, impurities and disfigurements have to be
removed. It is “punishment” (just
recompense) which accomplishes that work of purification. When we talk about the “eternal punishment”
due to Original Sin and personal mortal sins, we mean that the “stain” cannot
be eradicated by beings native to “time”.
Only a person “native” to eternity (Jesus) can accomplish that
purification. The Sacrament of Penance
removes some of the “temporal stains” caused by mortal sin and venial sin, but
not all. What remains in the soul at
death are purged in Purgatory (obviously).
The Ascent of Mt. Carmel was written so that we would know how to
complete our “purgatory” here on earth.
Anyone who has tried to put St. John’s advice into practice knows that
his program is perceived by the soul being purified as “punishment”.
As corollaries
of this doctrine concerning the temporal punishment removed entirely by
martyrdom and partially by the Sacrament of Reconciliation, we have:
i)
the teaching that frequent reception of
sacramental absolution brings about successive diminishment of the amount of
temporal punishment necessary to thoroughly purify the soul in preparation for
union with God, and
ii)
the teaching that we can apply our “program of
purification” (read imposing temporal punishment upon ourselves) to the souls
now in Purgatory. This second element
is also a corollary to the doctrine of the Communion of Saints: It is only in virtue of His being one of us
through His Incarnation in the womb of the Blessed ever-Virgin Mary that the
merits of Jesus’ redemptive and purifying sufferings can be applied to us in
Baptism.
One final
effect of Martyrdom: It bestows a
special crown or “halo” (aureolus) in Heaven, that is, a special joy derived
from a most difficult and outstanding victory over “the world”. This crown is considered to confer a higher
dignity than the distinctive “crowns” of Virgins and Confessors, which
represent the special joy that derives from victories over the “flesh” and “the
devil” respectively. But obviously,
since everyone who attains Heaven (please God we all get there, too) also has
won a victory over the world, the flesh and the devil, all the saints wear all
three “crowns” to some extent.
THE
VICES OPPOSED TO FORTITUDE…
The fact that
St. Thomas draws so heavily upon Aristotle for his teaching on virtue,
particularly the notion that virtue is the “happy medium” between two
extremes: two little and too much, he
is able to identify the vices which are opposed to, or rather, “oust” the
virtue of fortitude.
The habitual
disposition of soul that fails to measure up to fortitude is TIMIDITY. It is obviously a form of FEAR, but is not
the “passion” of fear, which, as we saw, is spontaneous and “automatic” and
therefore precedes the intervention of reason and the will. It is an “inordinate” fear of temporal
evils, that is, evils of sense and ego experienced in this life. Among them is the “inordinate fear” of
physical death. Thus the vice of Timidity
is the permanent and constant disposition of a person to flee from every
prospect of future pain of sense or ego, REGARDLESS of the circumstances,
REGARDLESS of principles, duties and ethical considerations. The adjective “inordinate” therefore,
conveys the notion that there are times when principles, circumstances
and ethical considerations DO REQUIRE that one flee from imminent danger of
bodily (or psychic) harm and death.
From this, we understand that Fortitude is the habitual disposition to
“stand firm” in the face of imminent harm to the body or the psyche, giving
reason-informed-by-Faith the opportunity to “sort things out” so that the
will-informed-with-Charity may command the appropriate response. (To complete the picture, we have to say
that, all the while, the Imagination, the arsenal of the soul, remains
“imbued-with-Hope).
Of itself,
Timidity is a venial sin (not a grave moral disorder), but can easily cause one
to commit a mortal sin, i.e., a sin that robs the soul of sanctifying
grace. Because fear does tend to
lessen the degree of freedom the will enjoys, it somewhat diminishes the
“guilt” of the sins it leads to.
There is a bit
of a problem with the notion of having “too much” fortitude, but again the word
“inordinate” comes to our rescue. Thus
the habitual disposition NEVER to flee from dangers of imminent harm,
REGARDLESS of principles, duties and ethical considerations IS a moral
disorder, and it is named IN-TIMIDITY or “want of fear”. This can proceed from lack of due
appreciation for the gift of one’s life and of the fact that the Lord God, as
author, has absolute rights over human life (violative of the 5th
commandment). It might also proceed
from pride, which causes one to attribute to himself more strength and power to
protect oneself than he really has; or finally (according to my textbook), from
“Dullness of Wit” (stoliditas animi).
However, it is not quite clear to me that “dullness of wit” can be
culpable.
In the last
conference we stated that one of the purposes of Fortitude was to “repress”
inordinate “aggressiveness” against agents that threaten future harm. The habitual disposition of soul whereby one
is always overly bold and aggressive in addressing imminent dangers is called
the Vice of TEMERITY or
AUDACITY. This also goes beyond what
Fortitude, the “happy medium” requires.
Since it is intimately connected with IN-TIMIDITY, Temerity arises from
pretty much the same causes.
THE
MARTYRDOM OF LOVE…
More as a
“filler” than as a subject I understand well, I’d like to say something now
about the Martyrdom of Love.
One way to
think of it is as an “intense desire” to undergo Martyrdom. The motive could be that one loves God so
much that he/she wants to make the supreme sacrifice as a means of giving
evidence of his/her love for God. Or it
could be a fear of losing one’s soul, because martyrdom “guarantees”
salvation. Again, it (the intense
desire) could arise from a “fear” of the sufferings of Purgatory, because
Martyrdom introduces one directly into eternal Bliss, thus “by-passing” the
purgative flames.
But perhaps the
best way to understand the term is to think of it as finding life here on earth
almost “unbearable” because of a love for God so great and so intense that one
experiences the most vehement longings and yearnings for union with Him. Certainly this was true of some of our own
Discalced Carmelite Saints: Teresa,
John and Therese.
St. Teresa has
recorded her vehement longings and yearnings in the Poem: Vivo sin vivir en
Mi ( I live, but not within myself).
Here are a few of its stanzas:
(3) Ah,
how weary this life! / These exiles so hard!
This
jail and these shackles/ By which the soul is fettered!
Longing
only to go forth/ Brings such terrible sorrow,
I
die because I do not die.
(4) Ah,
how bitter a life/ When the Lord is not enjoyed!
While
love is sweet/ Long waiting is not.
O
God, take away this burden/ Heavier than steel,
I
die because I do not die.
(5) Only
with this surety/ Do I live: that I
will die.
Because
in dying/ My hope in living is assured.
Death,
bringing life, / Do not tarry; I await you.
I
die because I do not die.
In his
commentary on the Living Flame of Love St. John of the Cross tells us
that the stanzas of this Poem treat of a love within the state of
transforming union that is of a deeper quality and more perfect than that
already treated in some stanzas of the Spiritual Canticle. Although they do not convey the notion of
finding the exile which is this life burdensome, I do believe the first two
stanzas can also be interpreted in terms of a Martyrdom of Love:
1.
O living flame of love
That
tenderly wounds my soul
In
its deepest center! Since
Now
you are not oppressive,
Now
consummate! If it be Your will:
Tear
through the veil of this sweet encounter!
2.
O sweet cautery, O delightful wound!
O
gentle hand! O delicate touch
That
tastes of eternal life
And
pays every debt!
In
killing You changed death to life.
And this is how
Fr. Robert of St. Therese of the Child Jesus, OCD, writing in 1948, tells of
the Martyrdom of Love of the same St. Therese:
Therese
perceives in her heart new desires which very quickly align themselves with
that complex of inclinations, capabilities, idealism and passion which we call vocation. But it is not the common apostolic vocation
of the Carmelite Nun: of prayer and
penance. Neither is it a single
vocation. She perceives many vocations,
different among themselves, contraposed and almost opposed. For her, then, they were beyond realization,
impossible, absurd: a warrior who would
fall on the field of battle, a priest who sanctifies; a priest? But the dignity is too sublime; a light-bearing
apostle, but one NOT LIMITED TO a single era; a universal, eternal apostle, as
if always a lamp lighting the world; a martyr, above all a martyr. Martyrdom!
“This is the dream of my youth…” But which form of martyrdom? All of them! The more the fantasy grows, the more her heart seems to leap up
and break apart with the irrepressible desires which it causes her to
experience.
But all this is
foolishness, a dream. Reality on the
other hand is so “ordinary”: the Rule,
a little cell, tuberculosis…
In spite of
that, these vocations attract and torment her at one and the same time. Evidently there is a great emptiness in her
heart, or better, an immense capacity that tries to take form, be concretized
in reality. Her desires grow and press
upon her with the power of a tidal wave or a hurricane. Her martyrdom becomes insupportable. It is useless for her to fall back upon the
thought of heavenly delights, because Therese, with incredible audacity
writes: “…if I do not reach one day
those most elevated regions toward which my heart aspires, I will have
experienced more sweetness in my martyrdom and in my foolishness than in those
I will enjoy in the bosom of immortal bliss, provided that You, by means of a
miracle, do not deprive me of the memory of my earthly hopes.”
* * * * * * * * * * *
MISSION STATEMENT: This web site was created for the purpose of completing the work of Fr. Bruno Cocuzzi, O.C.D These conferences may be reproduced for private use only. Publication of this material is forbidden without permission of the Father Provincial for the Discalced Carmelites, Holy Hill, 1525 Carmel Rd., Hubertus, WI 53033-9770.