The Virtue of Fortitude

In his Modern Catholic Dictionary, Fr.John Hardon defines fortitude as follows:

"FORTITUDE. Firmness of spirit. As a virtue, it is a steadiness of will in doing good in spite of difficulties faced in the performance of one’s duty.

"There are two levels to the practice of fortitude: one is the suppression of inordinate fear and the other is the curbing of recklessness. The control of fear is the main role of fortitude. Hence the primary effect of fortitude is to keep unreasonable fears under control and not allow them to prevent one from doing what one’s mind says should be done. But fortitude or courage also moderates rashness, which tends to lead the headstrong to excess in the face of difficulties and dangers. It is the special virtue of pioneers in any endeavor.

"As a human virtue, fortitude is essentially different from what has come to be called animal courage. Animals attack either from pain, as when they are wounded, or from fear of pain, as when they go after humans because they are angered, whom they would leave alone if they were unmolested. They are not virtuously brave, for they face danger from pain or rage or some other sense instinct, not from choice, as do those who act with foresight. True courage is from deliberate choice, not mere emotion. (Etym. Latin fortitudo, strength; firmness of soul; courage of soul.)"

An impressive example of fortitude in recent times is found in the story of Rose Hu.

As a young Chinese woman in Shanghai, Rose Hu had been formed by the Legion of Mary. Before long, she found herself being persecuted by the Communists for her Catholicism. She was incarcerated for the faith in prison and labor camps from 1955 to 1981.

Early during this ordeal, she spent several months in solitary confinement. While there, she kept the faith with a daily routine that included "hearing Mass" from memory, making a spiritual Communion, praying the Rosary, and other spiritual practices.

Her inspiring story can be found here:

An audio file where she tells her story
(Click on the third link from the top of the page for a free download)

       A book that can be purchased via this link:
       Joy in Suffering

Source:   Hardon, Fr. John A.; Modern Catholic Dictionary (1999); online version.

Image:
Botticelli's "Fortitude", from Wikimedia Commons. In the public domain.

Vatican Pressures Underground Chinese Bishop to Join Patriotic Association

As reported on October 29, 2009, "Sources told AsiaNews that after years in police custody Mgr An Shuxin [an underground bishop who was imprisoned for ten years] was torn about joining the CPCA [Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association]. Vatican and local sources confirm that the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples (Propaganda Fide) put pressure on him . . . in the end, he obeyed the Vatican. Still, he was against joining the CPCA, an organisation that has arrested bishops and priests and shut down religious shrines, underground seminaries and communities for many years."

And despite the fact that he joined, the Patriotic Association "continues to monitor his movements, preventing him from taking part in conferences and meetings". . .

Meanwhile, three underground Chinese bishops, including Bishop Jia Zhiguo, remain "disappeared".

Read the rest of the story at Asia News.

Image:
Artistic depiction of the Chinese Martyrs (martyred 1648-1930)

Compendium to the Holy Father's Letter on the Church in China Released

The new document "Compendium of the Letter of the Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI to the Bishops, Priests, Consecrated Persons and Lay Faithful of the Catholic Church in the People's Republic of China" is now posted on the Vatican website here. The key words of the twenty-two page document appear to be "spiritual reconciliation" and "structural merger". (See p. 8, fn. 2.)

Meanwhile, Asia News reports that in the People's Republic, yesterday's Day of Prayer for the Church in China was subdued due to government controls.

Day of Prayer for the Church in China

The Holy Father has designated May 24 each year as a day of prayer for the Church in China. The 24th of May is the feast day of Our Lady under her title Mary, Help of Christians. The Blessed Mother is especially venerated by Chinese Catholics under this title. Historically, one pilgrimage site for veneration of Our Lady has been the Basilica of Our Lady of She Shan near Shanghai.

Read more about the Day of Prayer here.

Read more about Our Lady of She Shan here and here.

Read about the Holy Father's new Compendium of his Letter to the Catholics of China here. (This article includes in the last paragraph information about three underground bishops who have disappeared in police custody: Bishops Su, Shi, and Jia. Bishop Jia was most recently arrested March 30, 2009.)

Read the Holy Father's special prayer for the Church in China here.

Read Cardinal Kung's prayer for the Church in China here.

Image: Statue of Our Lady of She Shan from the Cardinal Kung Foundation website.

Chinese Christians and the Passion of Christ

Zenit reports on the ongoing abuse of Christians in China: "[M]any bishops have disappeared and their whereabouts are unknown; what is most probable is that many of them suffered a violent death and that their bodies were burnt to conceal any trace of the crimes." Read more here.

Vatican Laments Arrest of Bishop Jia Zhiguo

The Vatican expresses "profound sadness" over the arrest Monday of Bishop Jia Zhiguo and the persecution of the Church in China.

The Arrest of Bishop Jia Zhiguo

From today's Asia News

The occasion on which the above photograph of Bishop Jia Zhiguo was taken is not known to this blogger.

Update on Dong Lu, Hebei, and the Persecuted Chinese Church

Today from Asia News: Persecution in China as Vatican Meeting on China Opens

Our Lady of China and the Shrine at Dong Lu

Although there are several images referred to as "Our Lady of China", according to the Cardinal Kung Foundation the painting above is the official depiction.

The story of the image is that in April, 1900, during the turmoil of the Boxer Rebellion when anti-foreign and anti-Christian sentiment was high, a force of many thousand rioters attacked the village of Dong Lu in Hebei province (near Beijing), where about seven hundred Christians dwelt.

The attackers started shooting skyward. Suddenly, however, they became frightened, turned tail, and fled. It was said that a woman in white appeared in the sky and an unknown horseman chased away the assailants. The priest, Father Wu, explained that he had appealed to Our Lady for help. This event was then commemorated with the painting of Our Lady clad in imperial robes.

In 1928, Pope Pius XI promulgated the image as Our Lady of China. This followed a request from the first national conference of the bishops of China in 1924. The apostolic nuncio to China, Archbishop Celso Costantini (later a Cardinal), along with the bishops of China, dedicated the Chinese people to Our Lady of China.

Pilgrims began coming to the shrine at Dong Lu in 1924. The first official pilgrimage took place in 1929. And, in 1932, Pope Pius XI approved Dong Lu as a official Marian shrine.

The church at Dong Lu that was home to the image was destroyed. Sources differ as to whether the destruction was by Japanese artillery fire in 1941 during World War II or by the Chinese Communists. According to Zsolt Aradi, writing in 1954, the picture was saved because the original was hidden in a wall, and it was by then in the possession of priests of the underground church.

In 1992, the shrine was rebuilt as a very large church with a statue of Our Lady and the Infant Jesus wearing imperial clothing, as in the painting.

Because of the papal approval of Dong Lu, Chinese Catholics view a pilgrimage there as an expression of fidelity to Rome. The shrine was a popular destination for thousands of faithful and hundreds of priests from all over China, especially during the month of May.

In May, 1995, many thousand pilgrims converged on Dong Lu for the Feast of Our Lady, Help of Christians. On the vigil of that feast on May 23, 1995, several unusual events occurred in the sky in the presence of 30,000 pilgrims. The next day the government intervened, forcing the pilgrims' departure on buses and trains. The local bishop subsequently certified the events as an apparition.

In 1996, the government forbade pilgrimages to Dong Lu, and in May, 1996, utilized some 5,000 troops to enforce the prohibition. It is said that at that time the government confiscated the statue.

In 2004, Asia News reported that the prohibition on pilgrimages had been in force ever since. That year, police had warned the inhabitants of Dong Lu not to conduct formal ceremonies and banned them from offering hospitality to pilgrims. An underground bishop related that just a few pilgrims had managed to get past the security controls and they had only been able to pray privately and not at the site. According to the underground bishop, the police stopped outsiders from entering the village at any time, but the security controls were even tighter during Mary's month.

May we never forget our persecuted brothers and sisters in China!

Sources:
The Cardinal Kung Foundation - Online newsletters for Christmas 2002; July 2004; and "Did You Know?"
Asia News online - Article on May 27, 2004 and another on the same date.
Aradi, Shrines of Our Lady Around the World; Farrar, Strauss, and Young (1954), pp. 139-140, via Catholic Culture online library.