Our Lady Of Perpetual Help

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Reflection - Week of June 21

Question of the Week:

What do I fear the most about witnessing to my faith in the light of day? How can I see my failing to stand up for what I believe in as a greater fear?

     Note that Jesus does not say that God will not allow sparrows to fall to the ground anymore or let you lose any of your hair! No, he just says that the Father watches over us all so that we need not be afraid of loss or death. Saint Paul is able to use the confidence he has in God to proclaim the gospel in hostile situations, eventually facing arrest, imprisonment, and death. As he writes to the Romans, the grace from the Father’s gift of the Son overflows to the whole world. We need not even be afraid of death, for Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life.

     Fear can lead us to all sorts of terrible thinking and actions. Fear of what those who are not like us may do can lead to prejudice and intolerance. Fear of what others may think of us can lead us to avoid standing up for our beliefs or for someone who needs our support. Fear of losing our jobs or our wealth can lead us to unethical and selfish actions. Jeremiah recognized the fears he had—of friends betraying him, of being persecuted, of terror—but trusted in God, who would rescue him from all wickedness. Three times Jesus reassures his disciples that there is no need to fear, even of those who might kill them, since we have God on our side. Our only fear should be of denying our faith and giving in to the devil, for then our soul is in true peril.