| IV. Choir | 9 August |
|---|---|
| Spiritual gift of fortitude | Peter Faber |
Fortitude is a gift of the Holy Ghost. It is not simply innate in every man but it is especially bestowed in the Holy Sacrament of Confirmation. What is innate in man is the natural instinct of self-preservation. But we know it well from fortitude: never can a gift of the Holy Ghost degenerate into ruthlessness, calculation, unscrupulousness, brutality and deceit like the instinct of self-preservation.
Holy fortitude is always paired with loyalty and faith, heroism and perseverance, confession, magnanimity and unshakeable trust. We have become candidates for this spiritual gift through Holy Baptism and recipients of this gift through Holy Confirmation.
Admittedly, many have lost this gift through their own fault. All sins of softness, weakness of will and cowardice drive away the gift of grace of holy fortitude. We must ask for it again and again. We find fortitude in all the saints, especially in the martyrs and confessors, but also today in the godless countries, where our brave brothers in faith languish in their concentration camps, mines and dungeons.
This holy fortitude is carried in a shining bowl in the image of wine by
Saint Sorel,
one of the seven from the Choir of the High Dominions who carry the gifts of the Holy Ghost down to earth from God. These gifts flow far and wide over the whole of mankind. We find them inside and outside the Holy Church, as with the wise men from the East, for example, and with all seekers after God who often come from afar to Holy Mother Church. We find it with the Roman centurion of whom Jesus Himself says: “Truly, I have not found such faith in Israel.”
Such people, who faithfully partake of the gifts of the Holy Ghost, should always be a reminder to us of how much more we, the children of light and heirs of Heaven, should endeavour to obtain these divine gifts. How necessary the gift of fortitude is today in the struggle for the faith and purity of our youth, our families and our nations. Let us ask for it humbly and persistently. Let us never forget that perseverance is a part of fortitude.
Prayer: Great Holy Angel, Saint Sorel, known as the ‘Wine of God,’ give us some of this wine of holy fortitude, that we may bravely and faithfully fulfill even our everyday duties without any grumbling, that we may remain strong in all the small and great trials of our lives and one day be found faithful by Our Lord! Amen.