The Road of Virtues
Fernando Dangond, MD, was born in Colombia, South America. He and his wife, Monica, live in Weston, MA, and have been blessed with two sons Daniel and David and a beautiful daughter, Christina (the inspiration behind Build the Faith) who left to be with the Lord 7 years ago.
Dr. Dangond, is a neurologist and scientist who works for a pharmaceutical company developing medicines to treat devastating neurological diseases.
I was a dreamer as a child. I was happy going to my parents’ farm, walking through rough and bulky terrain, admiring the thickness of the woods with its leafy trees and chirping birds. With an adventurous soul, I remember having hiked up a small mountain all by myself, without experiencing any fear of the unknown. This innocence allowed me to fuse spiritually with my surroundings, and every time I returned with my parents to the plastic and metallic city, I was full of nostalgia for the countryside. For me, walking in the countryside meant freedom, serenity and peace.
On the other hand, when I was a soldier in the Army, we were having a platoon exercise hiking a mountain in the afternoon hours when I stopped briefly to rest while the other soldiers kept advancing. I had thought it would be easy to reach them within a few minutes. Later, I understood I had gotten lost and that I had made a serious miscalculation. I went through several hours filled with anxiety, because the night was already falling and I was crossing the thickness of the jungle. With great effort, I went down the mountain through bramble patches and creepers until I was able to reach the mountain skirt where the Army camp had been assembled. This time, the same nature that I loved so much had become threatening, to the point of making me fear for my life.
Our life here on earth is filled with experiences like the serene countryside of my youth mixed with moments of great anguish, like that I experienced when I was lost in the jungle. The choices we make between sin and virtue lead us on one day to appreciate the exquisite aroma of flowers and on another day to confront a threatening storm. Our odyssey through the world requires preparation, clarity of mind to analyze our trajectory with the aim of crystallizing our dreams, and, especially, the ability and integrity to confront the great boulders that block our roads.
An example of these great boulders are the social, political and economic forces that come together in the middle of a global pandemic, with unpredictable results for our own welfare. There is also the clashing of the spiritual forces of good and evil with our Christian principles fighting against the moral decadence of our society, the detachment from the pure essence and immeasurable price of human life, the urge to pursue war, the corruption of those who govern, and the indifference of those who are governed. As Christians, we need to exercise and sustain our faith. The power of a faith sustained by actions gives us the composure and confidence to confront any adverse situation in this world and choose the right path.
To exercise our faith, it is necessary that we cleanse our spirit from its frailties, in order to convert it into a vessel of graces, that allows the fortifying light of the Holy Spirit to nest in our souls. Confession is a tool through which a priest helps us recognize our own bankruptcy and encourages us, by exposing our sins, to become better Christians. This spiritual nakedness is essential, because only in this way can we allow the entry of God’s power, with its multiple graces, into our interior being. This way we can walk on a road of virtues and can really be transformed, paradoxically, into “poor of spirit” beings. Full of God’s love, we abandon ourselves in Him and release our pride and self‑centeredness in order to exalt God’s Spirit and take it everywhere we go, enriching the world with its light, like a lamp on a lampstand.
At each station of our lives, we should look at ourselves in the spiritual mirror and remove our own internal stains. We must fight constantly to tip the scale, so that our virtues are always heavier and more impactful than our sins, and the latter are dissolved through confession and our changes in behavior. A virtuous soul, decontaminated, is a marvelous temple of the Holy Spirit. Instead of blaming God when we feel He is absent, let’s examine how prepared we are to receive Him in our soul.
By obtaining the seal of the Holy Spirit, we receive the promise of Jesus that we will never be forsaken through our life’s tribulations, and even more, the Holy Spirit himself will defend us and guide us through roads filled with virtues:
Whenever you are… brought to trial, do not worry…. Just say whatever is given you at the time, for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit. (Mark 13:11)
Through our faith in the Creator and in the company of the Holy Spirit, let’s choose to follow the road of virtues.
