Timidity to Boldness: The Fruits of the Holy Spirit

“God does not give a spirit of fear or timidity, but rather a spirit of power, love and self-discipline” (2 Timothy 1:7). In Paul’s address to Timothy, we see a true model of mentorship – the passing along of wisdom from one generation to the next. It was an address that cautioned Timothy about “suffering for the Gospel, by the power of God.” Paul did not want Timothy to go into this world with timidity; rather Paul insisted that Timothy “guard the good deposit that was entrusted to [him] – guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.” He desired for Timothy to live a life of boldness.

The Holy Spirit has been with God from the beginning, when Genesis shares that “the Earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters” (1:2) and again, “And God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness” (1:26). The “us” refers to the Holy Trinity, and the Holy Spirit remained (and remains to this day) present in the lives of so many (c.f., Joel 2:28, Exodus 31:3, Judges 14:3, and the prophets like Isaiah and Micah). Most certainly, the Holy Spirit was given to the apostles when Jesus “breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit’” (John 20:22). It was this act that allowed the disciples to move from timidity to boldness.

The Holy Spirit certainly moved Peter in that direction. Prior to Christ’s death and resurrection, Peter denied Him three times. Peter lurked in the shadows, even withdrawing in Christ’s time of need. However, when Peter and John were arrested and placed in prison for preaching in the Temple courtyard, and the angel appeared and ‘freed’ Peter, he was not so quick to withdraw – he went right back into the Temple courtyard to continue his spreading of the Gospel. Throughout the Acts of the Apostles, there is documentation that all the timid characteristics were vanquished from each who spoke of the work of Jesus.

However, the work of the Holy Spirit was not just evident in the apostles. David was called from being a shepherd to being the great warrior and King that he became. David had no timidity when he faced Goliath and took him down with one stone. Job was called from his suffering to a redeemed soul through the works of the Holy Spirit. Many saints in their conversion stories talk about the presence and activity of the Holy Spirit transforming their lives, such as St. Ignatius of Loyola, St. Augustine of Hippo, St. Francis of Assisi and St. Mary Magdalene. All shared their experiences on how the Spirit draws people to Christ (c.f., John 4:66).

Paul lists the nine “fruits” which come from our living in a beautiful relationship with God: love, joy, peace, kindness, patience, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The Catholic Church includes generosity, modesty and chastity. These are God’s characteristics revealed in us on our path to Holiness. In order to live with this boldness, one needs to focus on the virtue of courage.

Alexandre Havard lists courage, one of the cardinal virtues, as the ability to adapt to risk and to learn endurance, to “persist in the face of all obstacles.” Havard continues that the perseverance in courage needs to come from “principled steadfastness” and a “strong self-confidence.” Havard notes that courage is a foundation of the intellect and the will, which strengthens the contemplative and active heart. Courage is not recklessness, but more pure calculated address of the situation and the ability to move forward with a care of “altruism” – the ability to use the virtue to serve others. Havard concludes the this is an essential manner in “fraternal humility” and as a “transcendent motivation” which is the true “gift of self” that is necessary in our service to others. There is no place for timidity in courage.

A great example of this boldness was in 1981, when then Pope John Paul II forgave Mehmet Ali Agca, who had attempted to assassinate him in St. Peter’s Square. Not only did Pope John Paul II show compassion and love – he had the moral courage to defend the need for personal humility and mercy. While some have shown timidity as a sign of self-restraint or modesty (such as in Dostoevsky’s Notes from Underground), timidity can also reflect self-doubt and fear. This is not what the Holy Spirit calls us to. As St. Thomas Aquinas wrote in his Summa Theologica, timidity is a “vice opposed to fortitude” and when fear is “out of proportion” to reason, it becomes a sin, as it “impedes moral courage.”

Chesterton was a little more diplomatic in his view on timidity. Chesterton noted that there is a “danger” in the world, which could require one to exercise timidity as a “natural defense”; however, by allowing an imbalance, timidity can lead to an “unchecked confidence.” As Chesterton wrote in Orthodoxy, “The modern world is full of Christian values gone mad. The virtues have gone mad because they have been isolated from each other and are wandering alone.” We cannot let the virtues be compartmentalized and isolated; rather we must allow them to be cultivated through the Holy Spirit to grow and develop others into who God has created them to be. As Chesterton put it, “It is not so much that we are too bold to endure rules; it is rather that we are too timid to endure responsibility.”

Saint Peter, who denied Christ and stood on the shores of the Sea of Galilee in order to be forgiven by Christ (“Peter do you love me?”), still had a timidness about him until the Holy Spirit was breathed upon him. It was the same breath that was expressed upon Adam, which Chesterton said is “a divine power that renews and re-creates” and wrote that the Holy Spirit is the “life-giving force” which brings about this animation in the human person. We are animated to move in a different way. Thus, it was only through this breath of the Holy Spirit that Peter was transformed from his timidity to boldness. It was at Pentecost that Peter received that boldness (Acts 4:13-21).

Boldness, also described as parresia, means speaking with such a confidence without reservation of the consequences or obstacles in one’s place. It is a changing of the heart, as Jesus promised to all who believed. The breath of the Holy Spirit produces an authority that goes beyond any earthly power. While it certainly was a path to their martyrdom, it was moreso an illuminated path to their holiness. While the Apostles were baptized by the Holy Spirit, and Christ came to each in the upper room where John (20) professed the Holy Spirit was breathed upon them, the more permanent establishment of the Holy Spirit came on Pentecost – in what has been called a “permanent enablement.” This permanent enablement was not just given to the Apostles for them to deliver the good news – it is given to all who have the desire to spread the Gospel. As Sister Mariam James Heidland noted, “There is a power in the Holy Spirit to transforms lives.” Each of us is called to be a witness in how we address others, in how we present ourselves to others, and in how we treat the others we encounter who need the gifts that God gave only to us.

As Pope John Paul II stated in a homily, “the Spirit’s gift is to enable disciples to teach and proclaim Christ to all nations…fruitful tension between the Upper Room and the world, between prayer and proclamation.” Call on God to prepare you to receive on the fruits of the Holy Spirit, then use the fruit of boldness to squash out timidity in your life.