The last of the four cardinal virtues to discuss is fortitude. Fortitude is sometimes simply equated with courage, but this description is not complete.

Fortitude as a virtue is really about being able to do the right thing when doing the right thing is difficult. It might be best to say  that fortitude is a very particular kind of courage — a moral courage.

Fortitude is about remaining true to what we know is good when it would be easy or convenient to do the wrong thing. The difficulties in doing the right thing may be either external or internal. It might be that I struggle to do the right thing because someone else has made it difficult.

Historically we can think of the stories of the martyrs and how they faced torture and death for simply practicing the Christian faith. Clearly, living the faith with these kinds of threats takes incredible fortitude.

And just as clearly, Christians with this virtue still exist in large numbers today. One need only think of the stories of the Christian genocide going on in parts of the world in our own day and age.

In some ways we can say that fortitude of this kind really reaches the summit of what this virtue enables — especially when joined with God’s grace. For most of us however, we may never find ourselves in quite as dramatic a set of circumstances.

Still, external threats which require fortitude exist even here in our country. Standing up publicly for our faith and the moral truths it teaches puts us at risk — and thus sometimes requires a good share of this virtue.

We may not yet have to face death for doing so, but we will certainly have to face criticism, mockery, scorn and any number of attempts at discrediting us and our faith. Indeed, with our society’s trajectory, fines or imprisonment for holding onto Christian truths are becoming a reality.

As intolerance for Christian moral teaching increases, so too must the virtue of fortitude increase in us. Growing this virtue, as with any virtue, requires actually practicing it. That is, if I want greater fortitude, I must act with greater fortitude.

How do we do this? Well, for most of us this happens by practicing it in small ways on a daily basis.

What we might easily overlook is the fact that each day presents us with such opportunities — even if only in unseen and less than dramatic ways. A common example would be whenever we face a temptation. This can be an example of an internal difficulty requiring moral courage.

Temptations — either big or small — do pose a real challenge for us in choosing the good. Resisting a temptation to sin, any temptation, is a sure way to grow or strengthen this virtue in us. We can see why this is: I’m choosing to do the right thing when the wrong thing would be easy or desirous to do.

The more that I grow accustomed to making the right choices in small things, the more able I am to face bigger and bigger difficulties — especially with the help of God’s grace.

We can think of it in much the same way as growing in physical strength. My muscles grow larger and stronger the more they are exercised. To this end, we may find it helpful to begin by focusing on one or two temptations in particular to really work on resisting — not that it is OK to give in to the rest — but simply as a way of really striving for particularly noticeable progress.

As we grow in our ability to resist a given temptation, we also grow in our ability to resist others. Taking advantage of these small opportunities to grow is perhaps the best way to build the virtue of fortitude so that we’re better prepared to remain steadfast when confronted with the larger challenges which will inevitably come to us.