Do Not Be Afraid

When I first starting envisioning this blog I intended to name it "Do Not Be Afraid" from JPII's Inauguration Speech.  Of course, somebody had already taken that name, so I was "stuck" with the phrase he used after that "Open Wide the Doors for Christ".  Looking back, I am pretty happy with what I got; it definitely has a good, new-evangelization, ring to it.   Anyway, I still love the phrase "do not be afraid", and I'll definitely continue to use it and apply it to posts in the future.  (If you think about it, many of the difficulties that we face today could be overcome with a small dose of supernatural courage.)
 
Anyway, what I wanted to apply it to today was the announcement of Benedict XVI's imminent resignation.  I guess it has kind of rattled me and kept my mind occupied for pretty much the entire day, but I have realized that my worrying about the Church, or the next pope, or anything else (St. Malachy's prophecies???) is pretty pointless.  Jesus said that "I am with you always, to the end of the age." (Matthew: 18:20).  You know what, the Church has been operating just fine under the Holy Spirit for about two millennium, and my worrying about the next pope isn't going to change that.  Time to trust God, just as pope Benedict is obviously doing. 
 
As an aside, I found this great, succinct, blog post elsewhere talking about the great example that both JPII and BXVI are both setting for the world.  Check it out: Fr. John Hollowell's blog "On This Rock" 
 
I guess I see that John Paul showed the world the necessity and benefits of suffering and Benedict is showing the world how to be humble (can you imagine going from Pope to a "life dedicated to prayer"?  Yeah, I can't either.)
 

2 comments:

  1. I read about the St. Malachy Prophecies too! Of course I Trust, but some of them sure do have some good connections, especially considering they were made so long ago!! I'm curious, did any of your professors comment on these prophecies or St. Malachy??...or rather, I'm sure there's better things to talk about at Seminary School!! :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hmmm... Good Question, I guess I'll look deeper into those. They are certainly pretty interesting and thought provoking. Give me a few days... :-D

      Delete