Where are we to find the courage to live our Christian faith when faced with so many challenges? Only through prayer and an openness to the Holy Spirit given to us at our baptism can we find that courage.

Just as Jesus assures his disciples that even though they will abandon him, he will not be alone because the Father is with him, so the Holy Spirit that was poured into our hearts at baptism and sealed in Confirmation is the abiding presence of Jesus in us and through us in the world. We are never alone or abandoned and courage is just one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit and peace is just one of its fruits.

Sometimes a bit of worldly trouble is exactly what we need to recall us to our baptismal promises. Saint Norbert is said to have been thrown from his horse during a violent storm and this humbling incident led to his repentance and a richer living of his faith. Though once worldly and superficially Catholic, he embraced austerity that Christ might live in and through him. After he was appointed an archbishop he was turned away by the porter of the episcopal residence and told to join the other beggars because he arrived barefoot and in rags. He encountered opposition from friends and foes within and from outside the Church. But by the grace of God, the gifts of the Holy Spirit and the fruits they bore in his life, he was able to persevere.