Fr. José Juan Sánchez Jácome / ACN.- On the eve of Pentecost it would be worthwhile for us to make our own the words that Jesus addresses to the Samaritan woman at the well of Sychar: “If you knew the gift of God…” (Jn 4, 10). Thus Jesus begins his dialogue with this woman to lead her from her material thirst to her thirst for the infinite, and to increase in her the desire to receive God, after a life marked by sin.
“If you knew the gift of God…” Jesus also says to us. If we knew the gifts of the Holy Spirit, if we knew all the benefits these sacred gifts bring to our lives, if we truly sought God with all our heart to implore him to grant us these gifts. How many things we would achieve! How many situations would improve! How our love for God would grow!
Feeling provoked by Jesus’ words to the Samaritan woman, we are here to fulfill this desire, to quench the thirst we have for God, to learn to live the Christian faith and to not overlook the promise of Jesus Christ who sends the Holy Spirit to the whole Church.
All gifts are necessary and essential to strengthen the Christian life and to lay the foundations for the path of holiness. On this occasion I will expand on the gift of fortitude.
We start from the fact that the Christian life is a spiritual combat in which trust in God, the effort we make, and the grace of God that is always granted to us are important. It is not enough to have good feelings; we must take up the spiritual combat, train ourselves in the fight against the spirit of evil and implore the grace of God at every moment to emerge victorious against the attacks of the enemy.
“Man’s life on earth is a warfare” (Job 7, 1): a struggle against oneself—the malice and weakness of carnal man—, a struggle against the world, a struggle against the devil. It is a continuous, incessant, exhausting combat in which we need to be assisted by the strength that comes from on high.
The fortitude that comes from the Holy Spirit does not take the form of hardness or rigidity. It is not to be understood as a reckless and imprudent attitude that leads us to face all dangers irresponsibly. The fortitude we speak of does not launch us into life challenging everything and minimizing dangers, as if we were indestructible and all-powerful.
The starting point is not in boldness or bravery, but in humility, by sincerely recognizing that we need God to carry out this spiritual combat. For this reason St. Paul can say: “I can do all things in him who strengthens me” (Phil 4, 13).
¡Do not cut short his statement! In these times people want to be empowered and mentally try to convince themselves that there are no obstacles that interpose in their goals and that they can achieve everything. They go on to say: “I can do all things…” And there the things remain.
But we, following the example of St. Paul, and convinced of the power of grace, come to say: “I can do all things, yes, of course I can, but assisted, blessed and impelled by him who strengthens me”. I can do all things not by my own strength, not by my mental washings, not by my slogans and goodist, refined and optimistic phrases, not by energy, but by the help of grace and by the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
So we are not talking about raising our voice, showing muscle, or becoming reckless and boastful. The fortitude granted by the Spirit is interior; it is not about having a harsh, domineering, strong, warlike, violent character, but about having a serene conviction that we are defended by the Lord, and this conviction is received as a grace from the Holy Spirit.
The one who is strong in the Spirit does not shrink before difficulties, nor turn back before problems; he knows to wait, has patience, his security is placed on the Lord, whom he considers as a rock, fortitude, shield, bulwark and refuge; and therefore he does not fear. Those who possess the gift of fortitude are at the same time strong and gentle; they have character, but are kind; they are firm, but compassionate; and when faced with difficulties they do not flee, but know to remain serene, while being sensitive.
The one who is strong in the Lord does not boast, nor expose himself imprudently, but neither shrinks nor turns back; he knows whom he has trusted and his strength and power come from the Lord.
We need the gift of fortitude so as not to be pretentious nor pusillanimous; so as not to be imprudent nor timid; so as not to be reckless nor insecure. The one who trusts in the Lord, in his Spirit, knows to risk his life, without being unconscious or arrogant by that.
Following John Paul II we can define it this way: “The gift of fortitude is a supernatural impulse that gives vigor to the soul not only in dramatic moments, such as martyrdom, but also in the usual conditions of difficulty: in the struggle to remain consistent with one’s own principles; in bearing unjust offenses and attacks; in courageous perseverance, even amid misunderstandings and hostilities, on the path of truth and honesty”.
Therefore, the measure of the gift of fortitude is not human strength, not angelic strength, but the strength of God, his infinite strength, his almighty strength.
Returning to the issue of spiritual combat we can say that the Christian soldier is more a martyr than an apologist. In the strict sense he is, because he follows the path of his captain. In the broad sense also. Therefore it is more important to give life than to defend oneself from death, more important to generate a Christian culture than merely to defend oneself from pagan culture.
How many people among us are strong, maintain joy, do not lose heart, do not stop smiling, despite diseases, poverty, insecurity and so many things they face. It is more, abandoned and defenseless, they morally and spiritually sustain with their testimony so many who have everything, but do not have God. Humanly they do not generate the force, but as they love and trust in the Lord, they are granted the strength that comes from on high, they have the strength of the Spirit.
The joy, self-control, self-giving, the perseverance and the fortitude we discover in these people are not the characteristics of a wise person, or of a leader, but those of someone who is under the dominion of the Holy Spirit, when he receives the gift of fortitude.
In the martyrs and in so many people who live their faith in an extraordinary and even heroic way we can confirm the way they are assisted by the Holy Spirit. At least I would like to cite the case of two mothers who died rejecting treatments during their pregnancy that would put the life of their babies in danger. The Italian mother Chiara Corbella died at 28 years old. Enrico Petrillo, her husband, said: “Chiara was not a brave woman, but had the strength of Another”.
For her part, Saint Gianna Beretta Molla rejected submitting to an abortion to save her life. In that situation she came to express: “If a decision must be made between my life and the child’s, do not hesitate; choose— I demand— his. Save him”. Impressive! It is what the Holy Spirit achieves in the life of so many people.
The philosopher Soren Kierkegaard said: “The tyrant dies and his kingdom ends. The martyr dies and his kingdom begins”. Therefore, we must make our own the words of Bishop Pedro Casaldáliga so that the example of the martyrs motivates and commits us to give a decisive testimony of our love to God: “May the blood of the martyrs not leave us in peace!”