It is okay to be weak in Jesus. It is from this weakness that God gives us strength (See 2 Corinthians 12:20). From our weakness sprouts the healing-encompassing power of God. We do not need to cower in fear or hide from embarrassment. By knowing our own weaknesses, we can become very confident that we are nothing and God is everything.
Something my mom has always taught me is to stand up straight and keep my head up when walking. Maybe it is because I am tall that I tend to slouch when around others. I try to remember my mom’s advice. That includes trying to be confident as I walk—even if I am walking well over six feet in high heels.
I think this is similar to our spiritual life. We can pray, but be afraid of standing out in the crowd and being different from others (or think we are different than others). For example, we may be afraid to stand out when loud and clearly praying the responses at Holy Mass. Or fearlessly approaching a person to pray with him/her. We may slouch in our prayer life, not rising to our full protentional. Maybe we hide at the very back of the Church so we can sneak out without socializing when Mass is over. We may sing in a whisper at Holy Mass. We may miss an opportunity to teach someone about the Catholic faith because we are too afraid of his/her reaction.
What Can the Saints Teach Us?
“I am not afraid, I was born to do this,” St. Joan of Arc stated. She so deeply and intimately followed Christ wherever He called her to be, that even fear was taken away from her. God gave her great confidence—not because she was great and holy—but because her devotion to God and surrender to His plan made her great and holy. Joan of Arc became her true self. She knew her spirituality and she knew that God wanted her to fight for France.
“He must increase. I must decrease,” said St. John the Baptist in John’s Gospel (John 3:30). It sure brings me a boost of confidence to know that God is increasing and I am decreasing. The more God consumes me, the more I am like God and am becoming what He created me to be. As His increasing continues in our lives, we can more fully and fearlessly preach with words and actions. With us decreasing, we learn humility—a blessed gift! Not a humility that belittles ourselves, but a humility that helps us know who we are and who we are not and who God made us to be.
“I will not fall away,” St. Francis de Sales said confidently. What determination and intention! To be so in love with God and to have so much trust in God, that we can adamantly say that we will not fall away.
Furthermore, St. Francis de Sales said, “Is it not a great temptation to be so valiant in imagination and so cowardly in execution?” That rings true for us in the spiritual life. We can imagine ourselves doing mighty, saintly deeds, but in the end, we may just be trusting in our own selves, which leads to inadequacy.
When it comes to the time of execution, we hide in the “shadow of death” (Matthew 4:16) and darkness as opposed to the safety of the “shadow of the Almighty” (Psalm 91:1). Let us have both valiant imagination and valiant execution. The Apostles who once hid in the Upper Room became the fearless preachers of Jesus Christ to the ends of the earth. The Lord said to Paul, “Do not be afraid, but speak, and do not be silent” (Acts 18:9).
What do the saints and the Apostles have in common? They have confidence in God who created them to be saints. For, a saint is one who lives fully him/herself, as God created him/her to be.
What Can the Eucharist Do?
Now, for us weak human beings to be strong in Christ, we must receive all of Christ Himself. His Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity, who, as Louis Bouyer explained, is not just a something, but a someone we get to receive (Introduction to the Spiritual Life, 17). Holy Communion—what wonders—a gift more than all of the stars and far greater than any precious jewel. A gift of Oneself—His-self that Pope St. John Paul II and St. Mother Teresa could not even compare.
Communion is when we decrease. We need room for Jesus to come to us, do we not? For Him to come and increase. With Him, our utter weakness is strength. With Him, we find confidence. Like the saints who went before us, they treasured the Eucharist and walked with great confidence as they recognized the greatness and beauty of the Lord God within them.
What Do I Do Now?
Now, you are to go forth to Holy Mass this coming Sunday or at a daily Mass. Come, weak as you are so that God can fill you up with His strength. While there, think of the communion of saints that you are a part of. Take confidence in the example of saints who have succeeded and are interceding for you. Be bold when you stand up to get in the communion line. Stand straight and walk with confidence towards the most precious Body and Blood of Jesus who enters your mouth. With Him as the source of strength, be fearless. Be determined. Be intentional. Be confident.
3 thoughts on “Confidence in the Spiritual Life When We Are Weak”
Some comments on this article’s statement that Joan of Arc “knew that God wanted her to fight for France”. She said at her trial (during the fourth session) that she didn’t fight in combat, instead carrying her banner in battle; and she denied calling herself a commander since (as the Royal records show) there was always a nobleman in command. She was a religious visionary, not a fighter or commander. She also said she didn’t want to go to the war (“I would prefer to stay home with my poor mother and spin wool”, as quoted by one of the soldiers, Jehan de Metz). She said she cried when the saints in her visions told her to go anyway.
Thank you so much! I appreciate your knowledge and insight.
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