Parish
Novena to the Holy Spirit
Day
Five: Wednesday 27th May 2020
The Gift of Fortitude
The
Holy Spirit’s gift of Fortitude is the most easiest to explain. This is the
gift that bestows upon us the courage and strength to witness to Jesus Christ,
the Son of God. Saint Paul wrote to the Philippians saying, ‘There is
nothing I cannot master with the help of the One who gives me strength.’
(Phil 4:13)
As
we know Saint Paul, the great missionary Apostle, faced danger on a daily
basis. ‘...After he had spoken to the Hellenists...they were determined
to kill him’ (Acts 9:29).
‘...[They]
worked upon some devout women of the upper classes and the leading men of the
city and persuaded them to turn against Paul and Barnabas...’
(Acts
13:50).
‘Feeling was running high, and the tribune, afraid that they would
tear Paul to pieces, ordered his troops to go down and haul him out...’ (Acts 23:10).
Death,
exile, torture and beatings were daily threats for Saint Paul and yet despite
these dangers he still continued to witness to our Lord. Why? When he met the
Risen Jesus on the Road to Damascus, Saint Paul went through a profound change
and conversion. He had experienced Christ in a personal and intimate way that
allowed him to see truth and reality. His faith was solid for he had actually
encountered the Lord and wanted to share this wonderful moment with others. It
was the Spirit’s gift of Fortitude that allowed him to take his testimony and
witness of Jesus and proclaim it to the world. Obstacles, dangers and frequent
threats no longer held any fear for him because, as he wrote to the
Philippians, ‘There is nothing I cannot master with the help of the One
who gives me strength.’ (Phil 4:13)
Faith is never a private and quiet affair and as Saint Paul shows us, if
we are open and co-operate with the Spirit’s gift of Fortitude, we too can
overcome all fear and anxiety about others and the world.
A
place that is part of my faith journey is the Royal English College of St.
Alban in Valladolid, Spain. The Bishop sent me here as part of my initial
formation for the priesthood.
In
1589 the college was founded for the training of men to become priests and
return back to England that had outlawed the Faith. The college was home to
many martyrs who had links to Lancashire and what is now the Diocese of
Salford. Heroic priests like Saint Ambrose Barlow from Manchester, Saint John
Plessington from Garstang and Blessed Thomas Whittacker from Burnley.
This is a
picture of the college chapel on Martyrs Day. If you notice there is an alcove
above the Tabernacle, on the back wall. In this alcove is a very ancient statue
of Mary known as Our Lady Vulnerata. Daily and throughout the history of the
college, seminarians, priests and martyrs have stood before this image of Our Blessed
Mother and prayed. They have prayed for the help of Mary and the gift of
Fortitude from the Holy Spirit. As Mary received the Holy Spirit at the
Annunciation and conceived the Lord, so the prayer of the martyrs was also to
receive the same Spirit as they returned to England and have the courage to
face persecution and death.
Without
the courage and conviction of those martyr priests and the perseverance of the
people at home who held on to the faith, where would we be today? There were
many good and holy lay people in England who continued to recite the outlawed
prayers, and passed on the devotions and traditions that had sustained them for
generations in their relationship with God. However, without the Eucharist
there was no life and without Confession there was no growth. Priests were
needed for the Sacraments and their ministry as much as dry earth needs water.
‘The poor and
needy ask for water, and there is none,
their tongue
is parched with thirst.
I, the Lord,
will answer them,
I, the God of
Israel, will not abandon them.
I will make
rivers well up on the barren heights,
and fountains
in the midsts of valleys;
turn the
wilderness into a lake,
and dry
ground into waterspring.’ (Is 41:17-18)
The
Spirit’s gift of Fortitude working in both people and priests produces abundant
fruit. What helped to fuel the martyr priests strength was that the land of
England was ready to receive the Sacraments. The people of the earth of England
were thirsting to encounter Jesus in the grace of those Sacraments and the
ministry of the priesthood of Christ. What encouraged the recusant lay
Catholics to persevere amidst trials and tribulations was that the Lord was
sending shepherds because, as they knew, the Good Shepherd never abandons His
flock, the sheep of his pasture.
Veni Creator
Spiritus
Come, Holy
Spirit, Creator come,
From your
bright heavenly throne!
Come, take
possession of our souls,
And make them
all your own.
You who are
called the Paraclete,
Best gift of
God above,
The living
spring, the living fire,
Sweet
unction, and true love!
You who are
sevenfold in your grace,
Finger of
God's right hand,
His promise,
teaching little ones
To speak and
understand!
O guide our
minds with your blessed light,
With love our
hearts inflame,
And with your
strength which never decays
Confirm our
mortal frame.
Far from us
drive our hellish foe
True peace
unto us bring,
And through
all perils guide us safe
Beneath your sacred
wing.
Through you
may we the Father know,
Through you
the eternal Son
And you the
Spirit of them both
Thrice-blessed
three in one.
All glory to
the Father be,
And to the
risen Son;
The same to
you, O Paraclete,
While endless
ages run.
Amen.
In
our time of meditation today, let’s ask the Holy Spirit to help us embrace the
strength and courage that he lavishes upon us. What am I scared of? Can I
recognise and name those fears, anxieties and worries in my own life? Is faith
for me a private secret locked away and only revealed to those who won’t
challenge me about it? Rather than a missionary and proclaimer of truth do I
water down the Faith? Do I call it, criticise and denounce it, so as to be part
of the crowd and go with the flow of public opinion? Is there a situation or an
issue in my life that I need to have the courage to witness to? Have I the
strength to change some of my own weaknesses and bad habits?
There is
nothing I cannot master with the help of the One
who gives me
strength.’ (Phil 4:13)
Come, Holy Spirit
Come, O Holy Spirit, fill the hearts
of your faithful, and enkindle in them the fire of your love.
V. Send forth your Spirit and they
shall be created.
R. And you shall renew the face of
the earth.
Let us pray:
O God, who taught the hearts of the
faithful by the light of the Holy Spirit, grant that by the gift of the same
Spirit we may be always truly wise and ever rejoice in his consolation. Through
Christ our Lord. Amen.
God
Bless and keep praying.
We
continue on our Novena pilgrimage tomorrow.
St.
Augustine of Canterbury, Apostle of England, Pray for us.
Fr.
O’Brien