"Do not be afraid"

Upcoming events
1. Thurs, Feb. 24- FREE Dinner by McFadden's, 5:30 pm, Parish Hall, and raffle for gift certificates.
2. Sat, Feb. 26 - Men's prayer group, 11 am, Parish Hall.
3. Sun, Feb. 27 - Bible Study, 2 pm, rectory basement
4. Sun, Feb. 27 - Discussions on "Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory", 6:30 pm & 8:30 pm, Parish Hall.
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During my talk this past weekend about my vocation story, I told some stories involving my good buddy, Msgr. Thomas Wells. Fr. Wells has played a huge part in my vocation. He was one of the funniest people I've met, and he was a true believer. Great priest! Tragically, Fr. Wells was murdered in his rectory in 2000.

In our excellent Bible Study discussion on Sunday, we talked quite a bit about fear because of the line from that day's Gospel, "Do not be afraid" (Mt 17:7). Fr. Wells wrote many articles; the following is one of his articles on fear:
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November 22, 1998*

I do not know why the Lord puts me in these situations, but He surely does and I might just as well stop asking why. I was at a wedding last Saturday of a nephew. It was a particularly wonderful time for me because it was out of town and I did not have to worry about having to get back for any parish obligations. Anyway, I was making my way through the reception and came across two couples, the men of whom had been friends of my nephew's from grade and high school days, and whom I had sort of known as he was growing up.

Of course they are not married; of course they were taking a few extra days in Florida to see the sights, and of course their living arrangements on the trip were totally contrary to God's law. I did not find this out by prying, but simply by listening to the usual travelers' stories of motels, reservations and so forth. Now I know I should have kept my mouth shut, but...oh well, I'll try again next time.

Actually, the conversation was valuable for me because I think I saw in them what happens when faith is abandoned. They call themselves Catholic, of course, and take great pride in their Catholic education and heritage, but moral decisions that count are not made on the basis of what Christ, Church, or Scripture teach. But what has replaced faith, I believe, is fear. There is a fear of committment; fear of divorce; fear of not having enough money; fear of bringing children up in a messed up world and on and on and on and it all makes perfect sense! I respect their fear.

If God is not an active Father whose Spirit is with me, I must control life and destiny myself, then fear makes all the sense in the world. It is a funny thing, but the one fear they seem not to have is the fear of mortal sin and dying and going to hell. But, of course, a good and loving God would never send anyone to hell, blah, blah, blah...

The example of people living together is common, of course, but the fear that motivates it is a danger in every believer's life. What will neighbors think? Do I dare stand up for the person who is being mocked in the work place? Will I open my mouth when "everyone" assumes that abortion is fine? Of course, we all fall short; but as I flew home on Sunday, I was both sad for these increasingly not so young people whose potential is little by little being drained away because of fear; but I was also a little bit happy because I felt like I had learned just a bit about what life is without faith.
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* This is one of many article that Fr Wells wrote for the Sunday bulletin while pastor at my home parish from 1994-99. After his death, my parish collected his articles, and published them in a book, "From the Pastor's Desk".