This is the third in a series on the virtue of Hope. I chose this theme for two reasons: Pope Francis’s Jubilee Year on Hope and the challenges posed by the present government especially in the area of immigration. The topic for this month is Hope and Courage. The best explanation of courage that I have seen comes from the late American Catholic theologian, Rosemary Radford Ruether. *

Dr. Ruether defines courage as the capacity and power of the will that makes a person strive for what is good (and true) and be willing to adhere to this commitment in the face of all opposition. Ultimate courage is the willingness to suffer and die in defense of the truth.

Courage and truth are thus related. There are four stages in the process of pursuing the truth:

1)   The courage to face reality. In terms of those who are oppressed, to see their plight and to hear their pleas.

2)   The courage to face one’s fears.

3)   The courage to speak the truth to those in power.

4)   The courage to promote the truth to a wider audience.

I went through these stages when I was invited to give talks on the social mission of the church in pre-end of apartheid South Africa. The primary fear I had was of possible arrest and imprisonment. **

We need the actions of courageous men and women to keep our hopes alive. In the present climate, there is Episcopal Bishop Mariann Budde, coalitions of religious leaders, especially in the Christian and Jewish faiths, and many Federal Judges, like Beryl Howell of the DC district court.

Christian courage is rooted in grace and also on complete trust in God. Dr. Reuther puts it this way, “It is precisely this trust in God that enables one to speak truthfully and act justly without regard to those worldly vested interests that have a stake in lies and injustice.”

* “Courage as a Christian Virtue” (CrossCurrents Journal, Spring 1983).

** “Facing Our Fears in the Call to Act Justly” (Spirituality Today   Journal, (Fall, 1985).