Question 80 – How Can a Priest Balance Courage And Prudence In This Age Of Apostasy?

Interview Organization: Confraternity of Our Lady of Fatima
Interviewer Name: Christopher P. Wendt
Date: January 13, 2022
Our goal should always be to love and help the Church and souls. We must seek no other intentions but to serve in this way. Pray daily to the Holy Spirit, as I have done for years with hymns like "Veni Creator Spiritus" and "Veni Sancte Spiritus." Remember the axiom "fortiter et suaviter" to act powerfully and clearly, yet with kindness and meekness. These qualities, though seeming contradictory, can be united by God’s grace. Pray for guidance so that, when the time comes, God will illuminate the path for you.
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Transcript:

In all our words and actions, we aim to help the Church, to love the Church, and to help souls. This is our aim, thus we should not seek other aims and intentions other than to love the Church and the souls. Ask God. Pray every day to the Holy Spirit. For many years, I have been praying every day the hymn, “Veni Creator Spiritus” and the sequence to the Holy Spirit, “Veni Sancte Spiritus”.

Please, I suggest that you pray every day to the Holy Spirit with all your heart, so that He may illuminate you on what to do. There is an axiom that I would propose from the Holy Scripture, fortiter et suaviter, which means to proceed powerfully and clearly (fortiter) but also with kindness and meekness (Suaviter).

So if we were to combine these two it means, to be strong and uncompromising but with kindness and meekness. Today it seems that these two are contradictory with each other but as a Christian, this should not be the case. God can unite them by grace. And so, we have to pray always that when the time comes, God will illuminate you priest on what to do.