Courage

+ Cardinal George Pell, Archbishop of Sydney
15 Feb 2004

Life is mostly froth and bubble,
Two things stand like stone,
Kindness in another’s trouble
Courage in your own.

These lines were written by A.B. “Banjo” Patterson.  Well educated in England, he was a fine athlete and steeplechase rider whose personal life was often in a mess.  He was also a depressive, who took his own life in 1870 at the age of 37.  He learnt in suffering what he taught in song.

Ultimately he could not meet the standards he set, but the standards remain.  Every age admires courage.  We can even admire opponents because they have the courage of their convictions. Few admire those who blow with the wind.

Courage is not the same as fearlessness, because it is appropriate to be frightened by fearful things.  Indeed it could be said that knowing what to fear distinguishes courage from recklessness, from being a fool.

It is natural for a child to fear the dark or noises in the dark.  A good adult, or older child, helps youngsters to conquer their fear.  An ancient Greek thinker, probably the greatest, Aristotle, wrote that we become brave by doing brave acts.  This is true more generally also, because as adults we become what we are through our decisions and actions.

A coward is someone who refuses to do his duty, because he lacks confidence or because he is overly fearful.  A coward is not someone who knows fear, because everyone is frightened at some stage, but someone who is conquered by fear.  When Christ was praying before his Passion in the garden of Gethsemane, he was so disturbed that he sweated blood, but he continued on with his duty to his death.

Individuals fear different things.  Some in my family are like my father with no fear of heights.  Others of us feel a bit dizzy standing on a chair to change a light-bulb.

Some are fearful while they are uncertain, but resolute when the action starts.  Mark Twain, the American author, said that he had known a lot of troubles in his life and most of them never happened.

The best way to help someone muster courage is by example.  Courage especially when it is genuine, is infectious.

But the stories of the past can also be an inspiration, something to strengthen our resolve even today in very different circumstances.  It is still a thrill to read Churchill’s speeches to the British people, especially those in the darkest hours of the Second World War; to hear the story of David and Goliath, of one-eyed Horatio defending the bridge, to read of the struggles of Martin Luther King and Mother Teresa, of the Australian troops on the Kokoda Trail or at Tobruk; of someone dying bravely or suffering ill health for years in good humour.

Courage comes in many forms, but always as grace under pressure.