Remain steadfast in the journey of faith, with firm hope in the Lord. This is the secret of our journey! He gives us the courage to swim against the tide. Pay attention, my young friends: to go against the current; this is good for the heart, but we need courage to swim against the tide. Jesus gives us this courage! There are no difficulties, trials or misunderstandings to fear, provided we remain united to God as branches to the vine, provided we do not lose our friendship with him, provided we make ever more room for him in our lives. This is especially so whenever we feel poor, weak and sinful, because God grants strength to our weakness, riches to our poverty, conversion and forgiveness to our sinfulness. The Lord is so rich in mercy: every time, if we go to him, he forgives us. Let us trust in God’s work! With him we can do great things; he will give us the joy of being his disciples, his witnesses. Commit yourselves to great ideals, to the most important things. We Christians were not chosen by the Lord for little things; push onwards toward the highest principles. Stake your lives on noble ideals, my dear young people!
--Pope Francis, Homily to Confirmands, 28 April 2013
Take courage, aim high!
Dare to be true
Evil draws its power from indecision and concern for what other people think.
POPE IN PALERMO: HAVE COURAGE, BE HOLY!
No one can take this joy from us! No one can take this strength from us! Courage, dear young people and families of Sicily! Be saints!
Do not be afraid to oppose evil! Together you will be like a forest that grows, perhaps silently, but capable of bearing fruit, of bringing life and of renewing your land in a profound way!
Do not cede to the suggestions of the mafia, which is a road of death, incompatible with the Gospel, as your bishops have said many times!
--Benedict XVI, 4 October 2010
THE HOLY SPIRIT CASTS OUT FEAR
Lastly, a final thought may also be found in the account of the Acts of the Apostles: the Holy Spirit overcomes fear. We know that the disciples sought shelter in the Upper Room after the arrest of their Lord and that they had remained isolated for fear of suffering the same fate. After Jesus' Resurrection their fear was not suddenly dispelled. But here at Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit rested upon them, those men emerged fearless and began to proclaim the Good News of the Crucified and Risen Christ to all. They were not afraid because they felt they were in the hands of the strongest One. Yes, dear brothers and sisters, wherever the Spirit of God enters he puts fear to flight; he makes us know and feel that we are in the hands of an Omnipotence of love: something happens, his infinite love does not abandon us. It is demonstrated by the witness of martyrs, by the courage of confessors of the faith, by the undaunted zeal of missionaries, by the frankness of preachers, by the example of all the saints, even some who were adolescents and children. It is demonstrated by the very existence of the Church which, despite the limitations and sins of men and women, continues to cross the ocean of history, blown by the breath of God and enlivened by his purifying fire. With this faith and joyful hope let us repeat today, through the intercession of Mary: "Send forth your Spirit, O Lord, and renew the face of the earth".
(Benedict XVI, Pentecost, 31 May 2009)
Fortitude and Courage for My Brother Bishops
"That invitation, 'Rise, let us be on our way,' is addressed particularly to us bishops, His chosen friends. Even if these words indicate a time of trial, great effort, and a painful cross, we must now allow ourselves to give way to fear. They are also words of peace and joy, the fruit of faith. ... God's love does not impose burdens upon us that we cannot carry, nor make demands of us that we cannot fulfill. For whatever He asks of us, He provides the help that is needed.
"I say this from the place to which the love of Christ Our Saviour has led me, asking of me that I should leave my native land so as to bring forth fruit elsewhere through His grace--fruit that will last (cf John 15:16). Echoing the words of our Lord and Master, I too say to each one of you, dear brothers in the episcopate: 'Rise, let us be on our way!' Let us go forth full of trust in Christ. He will accompany us as we journey toward the goal that He alone knows."
(John Paul II, Rise, Let Us Be On Our Way, p 216)
Courage and Optimism
"We must not be afraid of the future. We must not be afraid of man. It is no accident that we are here. Each and every human person has been created in the 'image and likeness' of the One who is the origin of all that is. We have within us the capacities for wisdom and virtue. With these gifts, and with the help of God's grace, we can build in the next century and the next millennium a civilization worthy of the human person, a true culture of freedom... And in doing so, we shall see that the tears of this century have prepared the ground for a new springtime of the human spirit."
(John Paul II, Discourse in the United Nations, October 1995)
Of [my] free choice My God and out of love for You--
I desire to remain and do what ever be Your Holy Will in my regard. ...
Even if I suffer more than now--I still want to do Your Holy Will.--
This is the dark night of the birth of the Society.--
My God give me courage now--this moment--to persevere in following your call.
...
Today--my God--what tortures of loneliness.--
I wonder how long will my heart suffer this. ...
My God, give me courage now to fight self and the tempter.
Let me not draw back from the sacrifice I have made of my free choice and conviction.--
Immaculate Heart of my Mother, have pity on thy poor child.
For love of thee I want to live and die an M.C.
...
The more the work is spreading the more clear it becomes [it is] His Will.
Soon it will be one year [since she had left Loreto]--
though there has been plenty of suffering and tears,
there has not been one moment of regret. I am happy to do God's will.
(Blessed Mother Teresa, Come Be My Light, p 134-136)
13 Credo videre bona Domini in terra viventium.
14 Exspecta Dominum, viriliter age,
et confortetur cor tuum, et sustine Dominum.
13 I believe that I shall see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living!
14 Wait for the LORD; be strong,
and let your heart take courage; yea, wait for the LORD!
(Psalm 27:13-14)
In all her endeavours she consistently showed unusual presence of mind, common sense, and courage, as when she chased away a bull on the road in order to protect her girls and when she scared off thieves who broke into the convent one night.
(Fr Brian Kolodiejchuk, MC, The Private Writings of the "Saint of Calcutta")