The first damned souls Dante writes about in his Inferno are the cowards who are being tortured by stinging flies and wasps.
In the Apocalypse, St. John lists cowards first among the unbelievers, sodomites, murderers, whoremongers, sorcerers, idolaters, and liars and thieves who will go to hell. [1]
Cowards are never the heroes. They are the forgotten losers of history.
Cowardice springs from the cardinal sin of sloth, because the coward neglects his duty to God and neighbor. There are different degrees of the sin of cowardice, but the most severe degree is despair and suicide, which is a blasphemy of the Holy Ghost that’s never forgiven (Matt. 12:31-32).
Cowardice is a sin opposed to fortitude.
Fortitude is one of the seven gifts of the Holy Ghost, which is given to strengthen us to do the will of God in all things. Fortitude is also one of the four cardinal virtues, which the whole moral life hinges on. It helps man conquer fear by standing firm against evil. It may cost him his reputation, freedom, or life in the process. Fortitude enables man to endure and/or overcome trials, persecution, and martyrdom for love of God and neighbor.
The precept of fortitude is always obligatory. Therefore, it’s never lawful to be cowardly.
On Pentecost, the Holy Ghost fell upon the Apostles and gave them the courage to preach the Gospel until their deaths, most of them by martyrdom. When we receive the sacrament of Confirmation, we’ve been given the strength of the Holy Ghost. We, too, must be faithful till the end as brave soldiers of Christ in the fight against the devil, flesh, and the world.
We are the Church Militant. Cowardice is the opposite of militant.
The North American Martyrs were some of the bravest men the Church has ever known. In order to save souls, they braved crossing of the ocean where 1 in 7 ships sank in the treacherous waters. Once they reached America, they braved the elements and the savage dealings from the ones they were trying to save. They knew that each and every day might be their very last, but they did it for love of God and Church.
We see stories of brave Catholics all throughout history. I immediately think of the 26 Martyrs of Nagasaki, Japan, but every nation has its martyrs. [2] Just read the stories of these great black Catholics I posted several years ago.
Cowardice is the opposite of these saints and the Church’s mission in saving souls. When Catholics are brave in their faith, the Church is made richer and stronger in faith. When Catholics are cowardly, the Church becomes weaker. This is no more apparent than with the Second Vatican Council and great apostasy, where, according to Archbishop Lefebvre, 250 bishops believed the council was filled with error, but were too cowardly to come forward and make a stand against the modernists. [3]
Fortunately, priests, such as Fr. Joaquín Sáenz y Arriaga – Catholic Champion of the Late 20th Century had the courage to stand against them all. He documented the heresies of Paul VI and was “excommunicated” by the apostate. Because of his courage, he helped save the Catholic Church from cowardly bishops, who would have destroyed it, if not for Christ’s will to save it.
Satan used pride to bring about the fall of man and now uses cowardice to finish us.
Unfortunately, all of us have succumbed to cowardice at some point in our lives. I remember one particular time when in 1988, I took off my Brown Scapular in boot camp by a direct order from a superior. To repair this sin, because we must make restitution, I promote the Brown Scapular, give it away often, and have worn it every day since boot camp vowing never to remove it again.
Some people live in cowardice habitually.
Fr. Shouppe tells a story in his book “Hell” where a young man withheld one mortal sin in confession because he was too ashamed. After death, he appeared to the religious community he belonged to tell them he was in hell for refusing to confess one mortal sin.
I know many examples, but one particularly striking example is a lady I know, who believes in the truth of sedevacantism, but will only attend a Vatican 2 mass in fear of losing her marriage. The whole purpose of marriage is to help our spouse get to heaven and bring up children to do the same. In this case, the wife is actually encouraging her husband to remain in his sin. She is helping him lose his salvation rather than helping him gain it. If they had children, she would be setting a bad example and bringing them up in a false religion, where they may end up losing their salvation as well. Her cowardice could cost her and her entire family their very souls.
A common example today is found with the so-called pandemic, where many people have participated in the lie of wearing masks and getting “vaccinated” out of fear of what people will think of them. Not only has scientific truth taken a back seat, but moral truth is disregarded out of fear. Government tyranny depends on the cowardice of the people. It sickens me to no end to see so many people giving in to such nonsense, both scientific and moral. The end result will be the loss of what little freedom is left in the world. America has become a land of the slave and home of the coward. Few are willing to sacrifice a little comfort, much less, their livelihoods or their lives. We are doomed as a nation because of cowardice.
People fear being taken out of their comfort zone and therefore, cowardice is the way for many.
Jesus counters cowardice in several examples: 22 And you shall be hated by all men for my name’s sake: but he that shall persevere unto the end, he shall be saved. 23 And when they shall persecute you in this city, flee into another. Amen I say to you, you shall not finish all the cities of Israel, till the Son of man come. 24 The disciple is not above the master, nor the servant above his lord. 25 It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the goodman of the house Beelzebub, how much more them of his household? 26 Therefore fear them not. For nothing is covered that shall not be revealed: nor hid, that shall not be known. 27 That which I tell you in the dark, speak ye in the light: and that which you hear in the ear, preach ye upon the housetops. 28 And fear ye not them that kill the body, and are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him that can destroy both soul and body in hell. 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and not one of them shall fall on the ground without your Father. 30 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Fear not therefore: better are you than many sparrows. 32 Every one therefore that shall confess me before men, I will also confess him before my Father who is in heaven. 33 But he that shall deny me before men, I will also deny him before my Father who is in heaven. 34 Do not think that I came to send peace upon earth: I came not to send peace, but the sword. 35 For I came to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. 36 And a man’s enemies shall be they of his own household. 37 He that loveth father or mother more than me, is not worthy of me; and he that loveth son or daughter more than me, is not worthy of me. 38 And he that taketh not up his cross, and followeth me, is not worthy of me. 39 He that findeth his life, shall lose it: and he that shall lose his life for me, shall find it. (Matthew 10: 28-39)
We may fear losing affection from our loved ones, of being persecuted, of suffering of all types, but God tells us to love Him above all and through our love for Him, we shall overcome and gain salvation. If not, we will lose our salvation. It’s that simple.
No one wants a coward on their side, especially Our Lord! The bottom line is the coward loves not the Lord or his neighbor, which is why he can’t go to heaven as one.
Footnotes:
[1] But the fearful [coward], and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, they shall have their portion in the pool burning with fire and brimstone, which is the second death (1899 Douay Rheims – Apocalypse 21:8)
Knox translation: But not the cowards, not those who refuse belief, not those whose lives are abominable; not the murderers, the fornicators, the sorcerers, the idolaters, not those who are false in any of their dealings. Their lot awaits them in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, and it is the second death.
Speray's Catholicism in a Nutshell 