Be of Good Courage. Be of Good Cheer.
Let nothing you dismay.
In the season of Advent we pay extra attention to the truth that waiting is at the center of the Christian experience. The Kingdom of God is now and not yet. The light shines in the darkness, and yet the darkness is still here. One day, the light will swallow the darkness whole, and reality will be all there is. But today is not that day. Meanwhile, we wait in hope—and, hopefully, with patience.
Yesterday I met with some people whose lives are marked by patient endurance of terrible suffering. I was reminded that, according to Thomas Aquinas, patient endurance “comprises a strong activity of the soul, namely, a vigorous grasping of and clinging to the good.”
Thomas argues that patience is a necessary component of fortitude (courage). Josef Pieper remarks,
We are apt to regard this co-ordination of patience with fortitude as incongruous, not only because we easily mistake the nature of fortitude for activism, but first and foremost because in our conception of patience (in sharp contrast to the ideas of classical theology) has come to mean an indiscriminate, self-immolating, crabbed, joyless, and spineless submission to whatever evil is met with.
Furthermore—and I absolutely love this move—Thomas connects patience and courage with good cheer. A patient person “does not allow himself to made inordinately sorrowful” by the evil he faces. Pieper expands the idea:
To be patient means to preserve cheerfulness and serenity of mind in spite of injuries that result from the realization of the good. Patience does not imply the exclusion of energetic, forceful activity, but simply, explicitly and solely the exclusion of sadness and confusion of heart. Patience keeps man from the danger that his spirit may be broken by grief and lose its greatness.
So blessed Advent, all you great souls. Be of good courage. Be of good cheer.
Signed Wilderking Books: Save 10% at the Rabbit Room Store
If you love someone who is swampy at heart, you can make their Christmas by giving them their own signed copies of the Wilderking books. By "signed" I mean signed by me, the author. The nice people at the Rabbit Room have provided a coupon code for readers of the Habit Weekly. Use WILDERKING10 when you order from the Rabbit Room Store to save 10% on either the Wilderking Holiday Bundle or the individual books.
January 21-February 27. Writing with Shasta, an online creative writing class based on C.S. Lewis’s The Horse and His Boy (registration opening soon)
February 7-8. The Habit Winter Writers’ Weekend, at North Wind Manor in Nashville. (More information forthcoming, but registration is open.)
March 16-20. The Focus Retreat, at the Scarritt-Bennett Center in Nashville. Get more information here. Register here.
Virtual Writing Rooms on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday
In The Habit Portfolio: “Sir Galahad and the Ogre,” discovered by Gypsy Martin. From the Lost Lost Tales of Sir Galahad series.
Wednesday Evening: Habit Frontiers, Brainstorming Session
Thursday Evening: Advent Book Club Discussion
There's a place for you in this vibrant community of writers. Find out more about The Habit Membership here.
S.D. and J.C. Smith make a great father-son writing team.
You know Sam (SD) Smith as the author of the Green Ember series–#RabbitsWithSwords. Sam and his son Josiah (JC) Smith have joined forces as the co-authors of the Jack Zulu series–Jack Zulu and the Waylander’s Key and Jack Zulu and the Girl with the Golden Wings (so far). In this episode, I speak with the the Smiths about what it’s like to co-write a book and, more to the point, what it’s like to co-write a book with your offspring…or with your parent, as the case may be.
I never thought of fortitude in association with activism (as your quote from Pieper states). In my mind it goes really well with patience, a sort of quiet, enduring courage. But that got me thinking of the kind of courage that charges into things—an active activism. Now I’m contemplating the pros and cons of both. Active courage is necessary at times, but it has to be done with wisdom. Fortitude is great for long-haul situations, but can’t become acedia. My personality leans toward the fortitude, but I struggle with being too passive. At the same time, I’m not nearly as bothered by sad things happening in the world as people I know who are more likely to charge in and want to fix things. Hmmm….
The connection of patience and courage with good cheer resonates soundly. "Patience does not imply the exclusion of energetic, forceful activity, but simply, explicitly and solely the exclusion of sadness and confusion of heart." It's that confidence of resting in love, even when things are hard. Good, good thoughts on a day when the children have severely tried my patience. ;)