Fear or Love?

God does not want the Christian to operate out of a place of fear. He wants him to operate out of a place of love (i.e. willing the good of the other for the sake of the other).

For love to be authentic, it must be trinitarian: love of God, love of neighbor and love of self–in that order. Why?

The other types of love must flow from the Source of love, Who is love Himself. We cannot truly love apart from God.

But how can we know we are choosing to love authentically?

Love heals all fear (1 John 4:18).

Today, we live in a world ruled by fear. We fear being ostracized, we fear suffering, we fear loss, we fear commitments, we fear losing control, we fear death.

On the way to being fed to the lions in the Roman Coliseum, St. Ignatius of Antioch (death c. 107 AD) wrote to the Roman Christians, begging them not to try to stop his imminent martyrdom.

He said, “…I am glad to die for God, provided you do not hinder me. I beg you not to show me a misplaced kindness. Let me be the food of beasts that I may come to God. I am his wheat, and I shall be ground by the teeth of beasts, that I may become Christ’s pure bread” (https://www.universalis.com/usa/-400/readings.htm, 6/12/2023).

This does not sound like a man who bases his actions on fear.

“War is punishment for the sins of mankind”

Jacinta Marto, one of the three young shepherd children in Fatima, Portugal, stated, “War is punishment for the sins of mankind” (https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/saints/our-lady-of-fatima-423).

What, then, is the Christian to do in the face of persecution?

Were St. Ignatius’ words merely expressing indifference or passivity to evil?

What does it mean, then, when King David cried out to God, “Blessed be the Lord, my rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle” (Ps 144:1).

Shouldn’t the Christian fight for what is good and right and true?

Yes, but in what way?

When Moses died, God told Joshua to take up the role as the next leader of the Israelites, and to lead them across the Jordan River to claim their new territory and homeland.

What did God tell Joshua no less than three times?

“Be strong and stand firm” (Josh 1:1-9).

Christians have adversaries?

This statement would imply that Christians can capitulate to fear or other outside influences.

It would imply that Christians must have adversaries.

But how can one have enemies when he is called by God to love?

Doesn’t love tolerate, accept and embrace?

Yes, but this definition of love is short-sighted and inadequate, making it incomplete.

Christians are commanded by God to do more.

To truly love, the Christian must reject all that harms his body and soul and those of his fellow man.

And the world does not accept this kind of love; it ridicules it and regards it with contempt.

In the same letter, Ignatius of Antioch went so far as to say, “Christianity shows its greatness when it is hated by the world” (Letter to the Romans).

So, one might wonder, what are the enemies of the Christian?

The weapons of the Christian

Our Lady of Fatima gave three necessary weapons for the Christian to fight the three distinct enemies that weaken him and attempt to take him down: giving himself over to worldly follies; allowing himself to be ruled by feelings, self-indulgence and decadence; and not recognizing the tactics of Satan (who often works through other people). The weapons strengthen his resolve and provide supernatural strength and resilience:

1. Daily repentance (an intentional turning away from these “enemies” and towards God), 2. Daily prayer–especially praying the Holy Rosary for the conversion of those who hate God, and, 3. Consecrating himself to Jesus through Mary’s pure and Immaculate Heart (at least once a year).

These, of course, are in addition to the shield of regular confession (at least monthly) and reception of the Holy Eucharist at Mass.

The “three enemies” mentioned above thrive in the world today through people who become both the means to achieve them and the victims of their own inevitable destruction, which is why the Christian should pray for them and commend their souls to God.

Worldly follies engender a life of internal emptiness and sadness; self-indulgence generates hatred, envy, and selfishness; and the tactics of Satan spawn hostility, self-loathing, and despair.

It is against these that the Christian engages in a spiritual battle.

And it is against these that he must determine if God wants him to lay down his life for his friends (which is the highest form of love), or lead the charge against evil by taking up arms to protect His loved ones from harm.

Either way, he must rely on God to “be strong and stand firm,” for the time to choose is now.

“For you are my strength and my refuge: you will lead me out to the pastures, for your own name’s sake. You will lead me out of the trap that they laid for me – for you are my strength” (Ps 31:3-4, JB).