“I want to show you that I come among you through My Holy Spirit” (Father’s message to Sr. Eugenia Ravasio).
No one knows our weaknesses better than our Heavenly Father: our discouragement, our tendency to give up, not to make the right decisions and not to put them into practice. All these, among many other weaknesses, limit our Christian witness and can discourage us.
But the Holy Spirit comes to our aid with the gift of fortitude. He wants to strengthen us to do good works in a lasting way. He draws us and encourages us to take the steps that bring us closer to our Father; He invites us to make bold and courageous decisions and to put them into practice with His help.
The gifts of the Holy Spirit mold us into the image of God to make us like our Father, as Jesus admonished us: “Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Mt 5:48).
Under the influence of the spirit of fortitude, we become strong in love, which is the greatest of all gifts. It also increases our capacity to suffer, to endure hardship and rejection for the sake of the Lord. Perseverance is the eminent gift that works in the martyrs, enabling them to remain faithful to the faith even in the greatest tribulation.
Strengthened by the angel in Gethsemane (Lk 22:43), Jesus went the way of His Passion to the end out of love, fulfilling the Will of the Father.
By clothing us with the spirit of fortitude, our Father makes us spiritual warriors in His Kingdom, who exclaim with St. Paul: “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” (Rom 8:35).