Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you!
I saw a comic that said, Wife is afraid of a cockroach, Cockroach is afraid of mouse. Mouse is afraid
of cat. A Cat is afraid of a dog. A dog is afraid of man. And the man is afraid of a wife. It's fun in life,
we are afraid of something. Something makes us scared. These can be internal fears. Based on
personal experiences or difficulties.
As Christians, every day of our lives does not mean celebration. We weep, mourn, and grieve.
However, we should never lose our trust. Dear friends, we all need to hear these statement, "DO
NOT BE AFRAID." In every day of our lives, this is a statement of trust. It is a statement that gives
us hope. God tells us every day not to be afraid. There are moments when we are sick. Their
moments when you have financial strain in paying the mortgage. We have moments when we are
in pain of taking care of our families, especially the sick and elderly. Those moments when life
scares us. The moments when the family is over demanding. There are moments that make us
afraid of our families. We have fears of unresolved issues. We are afraid to face one another, to
seek forgiveness. Sometimes we are even afraid of facing Jesus in prayer because we feel we are
unworthy. Yet Jesus tells us, do not be afraid. In the first reading today, God said to Paul. "Do not be
afraid. Go on speaking, do not be silent. For I am with you. Even God assures Paul no one will harm
you."
Jesus is never silent in our situations. Jesus understands what we go through. Jesus understands
the world than we could imagine. This is the reason; He assures us as he assured the disciples.
Even as we weep, even as we suffer, we should understand our joy remains. It sounds ridiculous
to tell someone who is suffering, to tell someone who is sick/someone who needs help. That you
will have joy. Because everybody needs something to prove this hope. But we must make people
feel the presence of Jesus even in their suffering. This is an act of faith. This is the faith we need in
our families. Unfortunately, at some moments of our suffering especially due to our faith, world
may challenge us like the psalmist says, “They ask me where is your God (Ps 42).” Sometimes,
when we are under difficulty situation trials tend to increase.
You see how you parents calm your children when they find difficult tests in life. We tell them you
will do better next time. You assure them that they are capable, and they will emerge victorious at
the end. We should also hear these words from Jesus. We know and hear these words through
prayer where we ask everything from God through Jesus Christ. Through meditation. Through
adorations. Through recitation of the Rosary with our Mother Mary.
We are never alone. We have a loving God. We have caring God. We have a merciful Father even
when we cannot understand everything in the world. We should never be afraid.