Pablo was “fearless”, but what exactly does the word “fearless” mean? If we resort to the etymology we see that intrepid comes from the Latin “intrepidus”. Where “trepidus” means trembling, with which fearless means, “the one who does not tremble.” And if you turn to the dictionary of the RAE, fearless is someone who is not scared by situations or difficulties.
Indeed Paul is a great intrepid, because he is someone without any fear, without any fear of transmitting the Gospel. In his second letter to the Corinthians he defines all that he has lived and suffered to proclaim the Gospel; “I have suffered jail, I have suffered beatings, I have suffered insults, scorn” … that is, a whole curriculum of contempt and atrocities for the Gospel. He is a man without fear and I can think of three great fears that Saint Paul does not have and that make his message deeply successful.
The first fear that Saint Paul did not have is “to dialogue with the different” and in a society like ours in which it seems that everything is covered with tolerance – today the big word It is “you have to be tolerant” – but in reality you are more intolerant than ever. That is, when someone thinks differently, when someone does not think the same, when someone has … they are already labeled. So we have a hard time accepting. You just have to watch television, in TV debates you just need to jump into the jugular of the other because you think differently or give a different opinion. So one of the great challenges that Saint Paul had and that gave great success in his mission and that is a great challenge for us, is not to be afraid to dialogue with those who think differently, with those who bring you other points of view and respect that point of sight and that fraternal dialogue accepting that even from there I am going to learn more. In fact, my personal experience is that I learn much more from someone who thinks differently than from someone who thinks like me. Because whoever thinks differently is pushing me to rethink what I am saying and look for better reasons, grounds to explain why I say it. With which I appreciate it.
Juan Molina, Missionary of the Sacred Heart
X Biblical Days
Miracle Sound Radio
