Holy Fear


What I take away from today's Mass readings is that we need to have a Holy Fear. After all, fear of the Lord is one of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. However, this is not a fear of irrational anticipation of God's wrath and judgement, but rather a fear in which we acknowledge who God is and who we are not. It is to be in awe of God.
If we have that kind of holy fear, we can see the hope and promise God gives us in today's readings, without it, we might just see the doom and gloom.
Jesus tells us in the Gospel that the wars, famines etc. all must happen. If we look around us, we see they are happening. Jesus may come again today, tomorrow, or in a year not of our lifetime, but He will come~ at the end of time and for us individually at our death. Holy fear allows us to be ready for Him.
There are many who still do not believe that Jesus is the Messiah. The day is coming when every knee will bend, and every tongue confess to the glory of God the Father that Jesus Christ is Lord. (see Philippians 2:10~11)



*Musical artist is John Michael Talbot

Comments

Michael said…
Holy fear. I like that phrase - and you described it just right.

God Bless.
Anne said…
Awe of the greatness of God, that is how I understand Holy Fear as well.
Very sobering post.

Many do not have fear because they do not believe and think that the good times will go on forever. Both your post Karinann and Michael's have a similar resonance today.

God bless you both for this timely message.
Unknown said…
I am glad the Holy Spirit touched you all in some way with this post. I have to be honest- I had a tough time posting today. It seems that when I feel most unsure about what I am writing, those are the posts that seem to touch people the most. The same thing happened with the Mary Magdalen post of a few days ago. I had a whole other direction in mind when I sat down to write.
Thanks for all your thoughts on this one.
God bless!
Mary N. said…
This is an excellent post explaining just what Holy Fear is - and what isn't. Awe describes it very well. I think this gift is often misunderstood and I'm glad you posted on it!
Unknown said…
Thanks Mary, but thank the Holy Spirit for giving me the idea. I had no idea where this post was going when I started it.
God bless!