Perfect Love Casts Out All Fear
It is not uncommon for people to ask me why I am “spreading fear” when I discuss such topics as the Antichrist, the Apostasy, the End Times, or even the Day of Judgment. It is interesting to me that such topics evoke fear in the minds and hearts of others, which I think probably says more about the hearers than the messages being discussed. Still, it is a good reminder for us to try to meet people where they are, spiritually and emotionally, when bringing up such heavy topics. Very often, the lukewarm are terrified of such things because they lack the supernatural virtues of faith, hope, and charity.
The reality is that these topics ought not conjure up sentiments of fear or anxiety. But if we are experiencing such feelings, then my encouragement is to speak to God in prayer on the root source of it. St. John the Beloved writes to us, “Perfect charity casteth out fear,” 1 John 4:18. Perhaps some are afraid because they despair of God’s mercy, but we ought to rest assured that His mercy is readily available in abundance to any and all that repent of their sins and approach Him with humility.
In the Sacrament of Confession, all our mortal sins are wiped clean. And in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the same happens to our venial sins. In 1 John 4:16, the Beloved Disciple reveals to us that “God is charity: and he that abideth in charity, abideth in God, and God in him.” Therefore, we have no need to fear or despair, for in a state of grace, God abides in us, and this Divine Love assuredly casts out all fear.
The secular world spreads fear on a daily basis, the only difference being that it is concerned only with temporal issues. “Pandemics, climate alarm, wars and rumors of wars, riots, scandal, housing crisis, financial bubbles!” This is what fills our television screens and cell phones every time we try to see what is going on in the world. And so many just soak it in and eat it up. However, when someone discusses divine and eternal warnings, they are labeled a “fear monger.”
This shift is not just in the secular world. Even at the opening of the Second Vatican Council in 1962, John XXIII famously talked about “prophets of doom,” a reference that many noted was geared at Sr. Lucia of Fatima, who at the time was warning that our Lady had requested the Third Secret to be revealed by 1960. John XXIII read the Secret and concluded that it did not belong to his pontificate.
So from the eyes of the secular world and the Modernists, you are a prophet of doom if you speak about apostasy or judgment. I wonder if they would apply such a label to our Lady who spoke of these very things at La Salette, Fatima, Akita, and many other places? However, if you talk about viruses or volcanoes, you are just “reporting the news.” The reality is that, in either circumstance, we are not called to live in fear. We are called to abide in God and fear Him alone. It is truly ironic that when you learn the holy fear of God, nothing else in the world has the power to frighten you. On the flip side of that coin, when you have no fear of God, just about everything else in the world will bring you to your knees in terror.
We should never lose sight of the bigger picture. I love this quote from Fr. Joseph Iannuzzi, taken from his book, “The Splendor of Creation: The Triumph of the Divine Will on Earth and The Era of Peace, “The study of such topics as the Antichrist, the end of an era and the Final Judgment, may lead to sentiments of fear that distort one’s vision of the God who created us out of love. Like the early Fathers we must never lose sight of God’s ultimate triumph over Satan, sin and death – a triumph that is guaranteed by Sacred Scripture, by the apostolic Tradition and by the Magisterium. Happily, the more information we derive from these inspired sources, the more we are caught up in the mystery of God’s love for each and every one of us – a love which, St. John the Apostle tells us, ‘casts out all fear.'”
Let us reflect often on two scenes involving Our Lord in the Sea of Galilee. One is when the Apostles were overcome with fear due to a violent storm surrounding their boat, while Jesus continued to sleep peacefully. They accused Him of not being concerned with their plight. “Lord, don’t you care that we are perishing?” Jesus then commands the storm to cease, and immediately, nature itself ceases its rage in obedience to the command of the Eternal King.
This ought to remind us that Jesus always cares, even when we think Heaven is being silent. And for the soul which possesses Christ in grace, there is no need to cower to the storms raging on any side. If we posses Christ within us, we have nothing to fear. As St. Joan of Arc said, “I fear nothing, for God is with me.” It also serves as a lesson that we have to patiently learn how to trust God even when “storms” seemingly strike out of nowhere. In this scene, Jesus is in the boat with the Apostles, and yet they are still overcome with terror when the storm hits. Jesus has to calm the storm for them to be at ease, but He wants them to know that worse “storms” will inevitably come, and they will need to be at peace even when they do come. If their eyes are fixed on Heaven as the ultimate destination of the soul, then nothing of this world will be able to rob them of that supernatural peace.
In another scene, we see Jesus walking on the water towards the Apostles, who are again experiencing a storm on the Sea of Galilee. This time, however, Jesus is not in the boat with them. He is walking towards them in the midst of the storm. St. Peter calls out to Him, and rather than calming the storm, Jesus tells Him to leave his place of safety and come walk towards Him. This requires great faith, especially since it meant that Peter would also have to walk on the water. Peter listens and obeys, and begins to do what is humanly impossible to do, and yet, as Scripture says, “With God, all things are possible.” He walks on the water towards Jesus, but the moment he takes his eyes off the Lord, he begins to sink. Of course, Jesus is right there to reach out His hand.
Again, we see an instruction being given to all who follow Christ. Even in the chaos of the storm, Our Lord is still present to us. Even when we must leave our comfort zone, He is the One calling to us to have faith in Him. And yes, even if we take our focus off Him and begin to sink, He is still there to catch us if we call to Him. “God hath not given us to the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind,” (2 Timothy 1:7). St. Therese taught, “Your soul is called to raise itself to God by the elevator of love, and not climb the rough stairway of fear.” Indeed, over and over again, Our Lord commands us to, “Have no fear; be not afraid.” Ought we not place our trust in our King and heed His words alone? Did He not say that we should fear God alone?
The Baltimore Catechism teaches that Charity is, “A Divine virtue by which we love God above all things for His own sake, and our neighbor as ourselves for the love of God.” Perfect charity, then, is a charity which truly accepts all things as from the hand of God for our good, and trustfully surrenders everything to Divine Providence out of pure love for God and for neighbor. It is a disinterested love insofar as we are not concerned with ourselves, only with God and others. And we are at peace with this because we possess God within us through sanctifying grace, and thus nothing else is needed.
St. Teresa of Avila prayed, “All things are passing; God never changes. Patient endurance attains all things. Whoever possesses God lacks nothing: God alone suffices.” Thus, perfect charity casts out all fear, as St. John wrote in Sacred Scripture. In the words of the holy 20th century mystic St. Padre Pio, “Pray, hope, and don’t worry. Worry is useless. God is merciful and will hear your prayer.”
Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. We love you. Save souls. Amen.
