The Courage to Shelter
A Story of Courage
Courage is one of those qualities that’s hard to define. Next week, we will dive into dictionary definitions and etymology. But for now, we will dive into a story because you know courage when you see it.
The Ulmas were a Catholic family of 7. They were a farming family living in a Polish town near the border with Ukraine. When Poland fell to the Nazis, the laws related to the Jews became more and more restrictive. The Ulmas’ Jewish neighbors lost their jobs; they lost the right to own property. At one point, the government asked all Jewish people to register.
Knowing what was happening to Jews in other Nazi occupied territories, many of the Jews in the Ulma’s town went into hiding.
For about two years, the Ulmas sheltered 8 Jewish neighbors in the attic of their small farmhouse.1 Hiding Jews was a violation of the law, punishable by death. Despite the fear of punishment, they lived and worked together on the farm. Life went along in somewhat of the normal way. Mrs. Ulma even became pregnant with her sixth child.
In 1944, a local man informed the Nazis about the Ulma family activities. The Germans executed the entire Ulma family and their Jewish guests. And then had a party in their front yard where the executions had taken place.
Despite the house being looted by the German soldiers (6 carts full of their belongings were taken away), their family Bible was rescued. Inside, at the story of the Good Samaritan, the word Samaritan was underlined and “Yes” was written in the margin.
Despite the horrific cruelty of their execution, their neighbors had the courage to continue hiding Jewish neighbors in their homes. At least 21 Jewish people from their small town survived the war because of the courage of a few souls.2
On September 10, 2023, Pope Francis moved the Ulma Family closer to sainthood by Beatifying the entire family. The multi-step process of becoming a saint takes many years. The story from the 1940s is sad, but their heroism inspired me and I hope it will encourage you, too.
Wisdom about Courage
Last year, Pope Francis used his weekly addresses to share his thoughts on virtues and vices. While courage is not included in the list of 7 virtues, Pope Francis identified it as a foundational component of the virtue of fortitude.
Pope Francis on Fortitude.3
“A Christian without courage, who does not turn his own strength to good, who does not bother anyone, is a useless Christian.”
There are internal enemies we must defeat, which go by the name of anxiety, anguish, fear, guilt: all forces that stir in our innermost selves and in some situations paralyse us.
Fortitude is first and foremost a victory against ourselves. Most of the fears that arise within us are unrealistic, and do not come true at all. It is better, then, to invoke the Holy Spirit and face everything with patient fortitude: one problem at a time, as we are able, but not alone! The Lord is with us, if we trust in him and sincerely seek the good. Then in every situation we can count on God’s providence which shields and armours us.
In addition to internal trials, there are external enemies , which are life’s trials, persecutions, difficulties that we did not expect and that surprise us. Indeed, we can try to predict what will happen to us, but to a large extent reality is made up of imponderable events, and in this sea sometimes our boat is tossed about by the waves. Fortitude, then, makes us resilient sailors, who are not frightened or discouraged.
Fortitude is a fundamental virtue because it takes the challenge of evil in the world seriously.
There is a need for someone who can rouse us from the soft place in which we have lain down and make us resolutely repeat our “no” to evil and to everything that leads to indifference. “No” to evil and “no” to indifference; “yes” to progress, to the path that moves us forward, and for this we must fight.”
Closing Thoughts
We need to take the challenge of evil in the world seriously.
This is a chilling thought, especially for those of us who have lived relatively peace-filled lives. Somehow, it seems that by acknowledging evil, we give it power over us that it did not already have. If we can merely skirt around it, not look it in the eye, we will be protected from the consequences of its presence.
Turning a blind eye or deaf ear does nothing to diminish evil. Our ignorance is fertilizer. Ignoring evil makes it grow like bamboo. We are all impacted by its presence, whether we want to admit it or not.
I’m not sure if it’s all the movies I have watched, but I thought atmospheric changes would alert me to the arrival of evil. Unfortunately, this is not how it works. The wind does not pick up, clouds do not cover the sun, and the air does not suddenly grow chillier.
Evil shows up cloaked in goodness. Over time, it distorts that goodness, transforming it into something completely the opposite.
With deaf ears there is no one to hear the alarm once the cloak is lifted. With blind eyes, there is no one to believe what once appeared good was actually a malignant tumor that needs to be excised.
Let’s become prayerful people with the courage to recognize, acknowledge, and speak out against evil, trusting that love wins in the end.
https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2023-08/ulma-family-remarkable-beatification-martyrdom-jewish.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulma_family#Arrest_and_execution
https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/audiences/2024/documents/20240410-udienza-generale.html
Unfortunately timely. Necessary words for today. Thank you.
What a great story! Thanks for the challenge today to have courage for whatever meets us.