Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

     Fear is often a frequent emotion that hampers our lives.  It all started with Adam and Eve when they realized the gravity of their sin in disobeying God.  They hid because of their offense. In our First Reading from the Book of Kings, the prophet Elijah is fearful when he hears the whispering voice of the Lord.  St. Paul’s anxiety over the infidelity of his people makes him fearful that they may lose out on salvation if they reject the Messiah.  And in the Gospel we encounter the fear of the disciples because of the storm, and because of the Lord walking on the water and then the fear of St. Peter who in the very presence of the Lord of Life is sinking because he takes his focus off Jesus and centers upon himself.  Could that be the key to understanding fear?  The more we concentrate on ourselves instead of Jesus we lapse immediately into fear.

    So very often our Lord makes that admonition: “Do not be afraid”.  Do we hear it?  Perhaps sometimes but, like most people, not all the time.  Again, the fear may arise when we feel we are not in control.  We no doubt have heard the saying: “who put you in charge?”  Maybe no one has but we have assumed that bogus authority out of pride or self-importance.  We may ponder what the antidote is to “being in charge”.   It is found in Beatitudes: Blessed are the poor in spirit and blessed are the meek.  If Peter had been less braggadocious and more in tune with the beatitudes, he may not have begun to sink.  The more we allow Jesus to be in charge and truly believe it the less we will be plagued by the phantoms of fear and anxiety.

    Remember that Tuesday is the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a Holy Day of Obligation.  Because there is only one priest to offer Mass the schedule is different from previous Mass times.  Please refer to the schedule elsewhere in the bulletin.

With Blessings,

Father Langan