fear

God is With Us

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Do not fear what may happen tomorrow.
The same loving Father who cares for you today will
care for you tomorrow and everyday.
Either he will shield you from suffering
or He will give you unfailing strength to bear it.
Be at peace then and put aside all anxious thoughts and imaginings.
—St. Francis de Sales, 17th century bishop,
Letter to a Lady (LXXI), January 16th, 1619,
from the Spiritual Letters of S. Francis de Sales,
Rivingtons, 1871, p 185

Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son,
and they shall name him Emmanuel,
which means “God is with us.”
(Matt 1:23)

LAST week’s content, I’m sure, has been as difficult for my faithful readers as it has been for me. The subject matter is heavy; I am aware of the ever-lingering temptation to despair at the seemingly unstoppable spectre that is spreading across the globe. In truth, I am longing for those days of ministry when I would sit in the sanctuary and just lead people into God’s presence through music. I find myself frequently crying out in the words of Jeremiah:Continue reading →

The Hour to Shine

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THERE is much chatter these days among the Catholic remnant about “refuges” — physical places of divine protection. It is understandable, as it is within the natural law for us to want to survive, to avoid pain and suffering. The nerve endings in our body reveal these truths. And still, there is a higher truth yet: that our salvation passes through the Cross. As such, pain and suffering now take on a redemptive value, not only for our own souls but for that of others as we fill up “what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ on behalf of his body, which is the Church” (Col 1:24).Continue reading →

Frozen?

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ARE you feeling frozen in fear, paralyzed in moving forward into the future? Practical words from Heaven to get your spiritual feet moving again…

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The Secret

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…the daybreak from on high will visit us
to shine on those who sit in darkness and death’s shadow,
to guide our feet into the path of peace.
(Luke 1:78-79)

 

AS it was the first time Jesus came, so it is again on the threshold of the coming of His Kingdom on earth as it is in Heaven, which prepares for and precedes His final coming at the end of time. The world, once again, is “in darkness and death’s shadow,” but a new dawn is quickly approaching.Continue reading →

Defeating the Spirit of Fear

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“FEAR is not a good counsellor.” Those words from French Bishop Marc Aillet have echoed in my heart all week. For everywhere I turn, I meet people who are no longer thinking and acting rationally; who cannot see the contradictions in front of their noses; who have handed to their unelected “chief medical officers” infallible control over their lives. Many are acting in a fear that has been driven into them through a powerful media machine — either the fear that they are going to die, or the fear that they are going to kill someone by simply breathing. As Bishop Marc went on to say:

Fear… leads to ill-advised attitudes, it sets people against one another, it generates a climate of tension and even violence. We may well be on the verge of an explosion! —Bishop Marc Aillet, December 2020, Notre Eglise; countdowntothekingdom.com

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Will You Leave Them for Dead?

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THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for Monday of the Ninth Week of Ordinary Time, June 1st, 2015
Memorial of St. Justin

Liturgical texts here

 

FEAR, brothers and sisters, is silencing the Church in many places and thus imprisoning truth. The cost of our trepidation can be counted in souls: men and women left to suffer and die in their sin. Do we even think in this way anymore, think of the spiritual health of one another? No, in many parishes we do not because we are more concerned with the status quo than quoting the state of our souls.

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My Young Priests, Be Not Afraid!

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THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for Wednesday, February 4th, 2015

Liturgical texts here

ord-prostration_Fotor

 

AFTER Mass today, the words came strongly to me:

My young priests, do not be afraid! I have put you in place, like seeds scattered among fertile soil. Do not be afraid to preach My Name! Do not be afraid to speak the truth in love. Do not be afraid if My Word, through you, causes a sifting of your flock…

As I shared these thoughts over coffee with a courageous African priest this morning, he nodded his head. “Yes, we priests often want to please everyone rather than preach the truth… we have let the lay faithful down.”

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Do Not Be Shaken

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THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for January 13th, 2015
Opt. Memorial of St. Hilary

Liturgical texts here

 

WE have entered a period of time in the Church that will shake the faith of many. And that is because it is going to increasingly appear as though evil has won, as though the Church has become completely irrelevant, and in fact, an enemy of the State. Those who hold fast to the whole of the Catholic faith will be few in number and be universally considered antiquated, illogical, and an obstacle to be removed.

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Conquering Fear In Our Times

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Fifth Joyful Mystery: The Finding in the Temple, by Michael D. O’Brien.

 

LAST week, the Holy Father sent 29 newly ordained priests into the world asking them to “proclaim and witness to joy.” Yes! We must all continue to witness to others the joy of knowing Jesus.

But many Christians do not even feel joy, let alone witness to it. In fact, many are full of stress, anxiety, fear, and a sense of abandonment as the pace of life quickens, the cost of living increases, and they watch the news headlines unfold around them. “How,” some ask, “can I be joyful?”

 

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Like a Thief

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THE past 24 hours since writing After the Illumination, the words have been echoing in my heart: Like a thief in the night…

Concerning times and seasons, brothers, you have no need for anything to be written to you. For you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief at night. When people are saying, “Peace and security,” then sudden disaster comes upon them, like labor pains upon a pregnant woman,and they will not escape. (1 Thess 5:2-3)

Many have applied these words to the Second Coming of Jesus. Indeed, the Lord will come at an hour that no one but the Father knows. But if we read the above text carefully, St. Paul is speaking about the coming of the “day of the Lord,” and what comes suddenly are like “labor pains.” In my last writing, I explained how the “day of the Lord” is not a single day or event, but a period of time, according to Sacred Tradition. Thus, that which leads up to and ushers in the Day of the Lord are precisely those labor pains that Jesus spoke of [1]Matt 24: 6-8; Luke 21:9-11 and St. John saw in the vision of The Seven Seals of Revolution.

They too, for many, will come like a thief in the night.

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Footnotes

Footnotes
↑1 Matt 24: 6-8; Luke 21:9-11