The dictionary defines courage as the ability to confront fear in the face of pain, danger, uncertainty, or intimidation. Christians identify courage as the virtue of fortitude, which the Catechism of the Catholic Church (1808) says “enables one to conquer fear, even fear of death, and to face trials and persecutions.”
When Archbishop Oscar Romero spoke out for the poor of El Salvador, he knew he was putting his own life in danger, and he was strengthened by the courage that is a gift of the Holy Spirit.
When Saint Isaac Jogues returned to the New World after having been tortured for 13 months by the Mohawk Indians, he knew he was returning to a life-threatening situation and he was strengthened by the courage that is a gift of the Holy Spirit.
When Mrs. Augusta Gervay and Father Emilian Novak ran a workshop that produced baptismal certificates used to save the lives of Jews during the Holocaust, they were endangering their own lives and were strengthened by the courage that is a gift of the Holy Spirit.