In his Summa Theologiae, II-II, qq. 123-140, St. Thomas Aquinas offers a thorough “treatise on Fortitude,” which explains how this virtue, and the corresponding Gift of the Holy Spirit, contributes an essential role to a life of holiness. Empirical research into stress and resilience corroborates Aquinas’s psychology of fortitude and its relation to anger which contribute to one’s ability to cope with difficulty, resist destruction under hardship, and construct something positive out of an otherwise negative situation. Finally, the Christological elements of courage and the Holy Spirit’s Gift of Fortitude are crucial for facing every difficulty, even the possibility of death.
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