Fr. Ferdinando Colombo: Counseling the Doubters
Actualizing the works of mercy through the eyes of Fr. Ferdinando Colombo
There are many examples of doubt presented to us in Scripture. Recall, for example, Zechariah‘s doubt when confronted with the angel’s announcement in the temple, “How can I know this? I am old and my wife is advanced in years” (Luke 1:18).
This doubt is contrasted with Mary‘s “good” doubt, “How is this possible? I know no man” (Lk 1:34).
We also recall the episode of Nicodemus, who visits Jesus at night to resolve his doubt, “How can a man be born when he is old?” (Jn 3:4), “ …how can this happen?” (Jn 3:9), as well as the rich young man who asks the Lord, “What must I do to have eternal life? “ or the evangelist Matthew’s recollection of Jesus’ last meeting with his disciples at the end of his Gospel: “The eleven disciples meanwhile went to Galilee, to the mountain Jesus had set for them. When they saw him, they prostrated themselves before him; but some doubted.” (Mt 28:16-17).
Also well-known is the episode of Thomas, in which doubt is even forcefully expressed, almost as an act of defiant challenge: “… If I do not see” (Jn. 20:24-29). Here I really like the attitude of Jesus who does not shy away from Thomas’ doubt, but submits to his request for verification, almost as if to endorse it.
Even our doubts in the face of incomprehensible and unacceptable situations such as an incurable disease, the death of a young man, the seemingly unchallenged dominance of violence, injustice, find great prominence in the Gospel.
The Lord’s Scream on the Cross
But the most striking doubt is that which we grasp in the Lord’s cry on the cross, “My God why have you forsaken me!” there where we grasp that in the face of the ultimate challenge of death even Jesus, in his human nature, also because of the profound closeness and sharing of the drama of man, plunges into the dense and deep fog of doubt. Rather than denial of faith, then, doubt can be grasped as inherent in the very structure of faith in the God of Israel manifested in history and revealed in the humanity of Jesus of Nazareth.
Loved, welcomed and heard
For these reasons I believe that the doubter must first and foremost not be judged, but loved, welcomed and listened to with great respect and attention. In order to have the strength to do this, let us remember God’s mercy toward our doubts and our many questions and ask Him to stand before the doubt of others with the same mercy and humility.
But we who believe must also be careful: for the believer is not a holder of the truth, but always remains a seeker of it, even if this truth is known and confessed. Those who want to give good advice must first show closeness, love and respect toward the person asking for help. This is how Jesus was: close to the disciples, to the sick, to the suffering, to sinners.
We live in a culture that exaggerates individualism and sometimes personal whim. This is why counseling the doubters is instead viewed with suspicion in a culture where relativism reigns.
Reflection and prayer
Moreover, we all know that if our advice is not preceded by serious reflection and even prayer, it easily runs the risk of becoming manipulation, but at the same time we are aware that providing enlightening advice can prove to be an invaluable asset to life.
We must find the right way, the measure in this exercise of moral charity. “By quenching the thirst for truth of him who doubts, by wise counsel that comes from the Lord, you will have dug for him a well of fresh water.” We know that nowadays many people, because of the complexities of life and the difficulties in reading and interpreting it, turn to fortune tellers, palm readers and tarot card readers, astrology and horoscopes.
This only confirms the great sense of bewilderment and uncertainty of our times, together, however, with the need to find true and effective help.
The Council
Counsel, with a capital C, is one of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit.
The Spirit of Counsel as we know is the one that illuminates our hearts so that we understand the right way to speak and behave and the way forward. It is the one that gives us the ability to read life and particularly the most difficult and seemingly hopeless affairs with God’s eyes.
This ability, this power, does not come from us, but is a gift that God generously makes available: all you have to do is open your heart to receive it. So the first and fundamental indication concerns the importance of asking for the power of counsel in order to be able to understand how God stands before the situation about which we are asked for counsel.
What would Jesus say now?
What would he read of the situation presented to us? I think that the more we live in union with God, the more we allow ourselves to be questioned and shaped by His Word, the more we will be nourished by Him, the more we will be able to live in tune with truth and justice, and the more we will also be able to read deeply into people’s hearts and into the complexity of situations in order to speak a good and helpful word to those who ask us for it. (Massimo Papotti)
An episode on the counsel of the doubters reported by Pope Francis: “I remember once in the sanctuary of Luján I was in the confessional, in front of which there was a long line. There was also a young boy who was all modern, with earrings, tattoos, all these things… And he came to tell me what was going on with him. It was a big, difficult problem.
And he said, I told my mom all this and my mom said, go to Our Lady and she will tell you what to do. Here was a woman who had the gift of counsel. She didn’t know how to get out of her son’s problem, but she pointed the right way: go to Our Lady and she will tell you. That is the gift of counsel. That humble, simple woman gave her son the truest advice. In fact, this boy told me: I looked at Our Lady and felt that I have to do this, this and this…. I didn’t have to speak, his mom and the boy himself had already said it all. This is the gift of counseling. You moms who have this gift, ask for it for your children. The gift of counseling children is a gift from God.”
PRAYER
SEQUENCE TO THE HOLY SPIRIT
Come, Holy Spirit
Send to us from heaven a ray of your light.
Come, father of the poor; come, giver of gifts; come, light of hearts.
Perfect comforter; sweet host of the soul, sweetest relief.
In toil, rest, in heat shelter, in weeping comfort.
O most blessed light, invade into the depths the hearts of your faithful.
Without your strength nothing is in man, nothing without fault.
Wash what is sordid, bathe what is parched, heal what bleeds.
Bend that which is stiff, warm that which is icy, straighten that which is astray.
Give to your faithful who trust in you alone your holy gifts.
Give virtue and reward, give holy death, give eternal joy. Amen
Online version of the book by clicking on “The Work of Mercy – Fr. Ferdinando Colombo – browsable”
Photo
- “Le Opere di Misericordia“, fr. Ferdinando Colombo
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