Nolite Timere [Do not be afraid]

Pentecost

08 June, 2014

DO NOT BE AFRAID: 

When you fear that the Lord is no longer with you, the Spirit of Wisdom will open the eyes of your heart to see God’s abiding presence in all creation. 

When you fear you have not fully grasped what the Lord himself has taught you, the Spirit of Understanding will reveal the truth you seek. 

If you find yourself lost and know not the direction you should take, the Spirit of Counsel will burn like a fire within you to light your path in the way of the Lord. 

In times of fear – even for your very life – the Spirit of Fortitude will embolden you with his strength to walk in the footsteps of Christ. 

When you fear that the weakness of your human flesh will confound your good intent, let the Spirit of Knowledge allow you to see with the eyes of God and act in accordance with his will. 

And should you ever forget that the Lord your God so loved you that he sent his only son to die that you might live, let the spiritual gifts of Piety and Fear of the Lord give you the grace to stand in his presence in wonder and awe, and to return his perfect love with love alone.

Not one of the Apostles gathered that day in the upper room was without fear of one kind or another. Their Lord had risen from the dead and revealed himself as not just their Lord, but Lord of all. And then, just as their eyes had been opened to the truth, he left them. In 50 days they had gone from being orphans to sons of God to orphans again.

But before departing from the world, Christ had promised that he would not leave them orphans; that he would send a comforter, a guide, an advocate and protector, to be with them till the end of time. This Paraclete – the Spirit of God that moved over the waters at the breaking of creation’s first dawn and spoke through the prophets – will be sent now to dwell for all time within God’s chosen people to renew, inspire and empower them in the service of God.

So it was for help that they waited – for clarity, direction, inspiration and hope; for a true understanding of what Jesus meant when he said, “As the Father sent me, so I am sending you,” and again, before he ascended into heaven, “Go, therefore, make disciples of all the nations”. How could this mission be achieved by them in a hostile city and a foreign world?

And so they waited with great yearning. And they were not to be disappointed; for with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, no man is left wanting; for the gifts of the Holy Spirit bring to perfection in man, our vision of and share in the divine nature through our faith in Christ Jesus. And with the Holy Spirit’s indwelling there was no room for fear or doubt, because all that seemed impossible to them even as they sat contemplating the Lord’s final promise, indeed came to pass through the grace of God working in them in the bountiful charismata of the Spirit.

And what of us, my brothers? Do we not profess our faith in the same God – the Father almighty; the only begotten Son; the Holy Spirit, the giver of life – as our fathers in the faith, through generation after generation, all the way back to the Apostles? Is it not the same Spirit that dwells within us today, sent by the same Lord, indeed for the same purpose of his glory through the living body of Christ, his Church on Earth?

And so, even as you say “I believe”, never cease to trust that the same gifts are given unto us today and always, those gifts of the Spirit that say, "Do not be afraid, for behold, I am with you always, yes, even to the end of time."