The Martyrs of Lyon

In the year 177 AD a violent persecution was unleashed on the Catholics of Lyon France. In all, 48 Christians were tortured and put to death. It began with Christians being mocked, and then increasingly marginalized, prohibited from attending public places, isolated and silenced. It ended with a violent campaign of public torture, imprisonment and death in the Roman Amphitheatre. The purpose of the terrible public tortures was to cause all Christians to give up their faith out of fear.  But the martyrs possessed the virtue of fortitude.

FORTITUDE

a.      Fortitude is the virtue by which we overcome our fears in pursuing the good. It’s the virtue that causes us to cling to the good, to pursue the good, despite hardship and difficulty

b.      It’s the virtue that enables us to see through a commitment, whatever the difficulties.

i.     Without fortitude, a human being is a quitter, a flake, a softie who can only be relied upon not to persevere, not to hang in there, not to be dependable.

c.      In other words, fortitude is the virtue without which none of the things which make life worthwhile – all of which demand sacrifice and perseverance – can be realized.  i.     So if you want to have any lasting happiness in this life or the next, you need fortitude