“As long as we live, we will fight. As long as we fight, it is a sign that we are not defeated and that the good Spirit dwells in us. If death does not find you a victor, may it at least find you a fighter” (St. Augustine).
A wise and helpful saying of St. Augustine! Indeed, we must never lose heart, even if we experience defeats in our journey of following Christ or in our apostolic endeavors.
Our Heavenly Father wants us, after our defeats, to get up and keep on fighting. He gives us the means to do so. If it is a failure on a personal level, we have access to the Sacrament of Penance. If it is a matter of fierce battles that try to disturb, complicate or even prevent us from carrying out the mission that the Lord has entrusted to us, it is enough to think of the example of Jesus or the Apostles: how many hard battles they had to face; but even when they seemed to be defeated, they kept on fighting!
St. Paul’s words that “through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22) remind us that tribulations are part of our journey. Often these become especially intense when the Lord entrusts us with important tasks.
What is crucial is that we do not give up, that we keep getting up, trusting in God, and keep fighting for the Kingdom of God. In fact, discouragement, as well as false thinking, wants to tell us the lie that everything is in vain and that we will never reach our goal. In this way, it tries to weaken us to the point that our inner relationship with our Father seems to be obscured.
Let us continue to fight with the strength of our Lord! This is where our will comes into play, what we can bring to the table. If we do not win, we can at least present ourselves to our Father as one who fought to the end.