Palm Sunday Homily - Fr. Bob - Love Conquers all Fear

Fear, an emotional response to a perceived threat.  Fear, we all experience it, and I would say a good many of us are experiencing it now.
Our way of being in this world, threatened.  Our way of being church in this world, threatened.(?)  How can we interact with others we love when we are told to keep away?  How can we stay healthy? Keep our kids safe?

Fear, as one famous set of books writes, is the mind killer.  Fear, if not worked through, truly isolates us. We get swallowed up in our own perceived losses. We start to see only threats, darkness, conspiracy...

Love conquers all fear.

Jesus experiences fear.  There are very real existential threats to him. There is betrayal, physical abuse, personal attacks, and there will be the cross.

I don’t know about you, but for me that scene in the Garden is pivotal.  Jesus understands what is about to take place. He is scared. What does he do?

He prays.  Read how he prays. He does not ask that the Father change Judas or the others. He does not pray that violence be inflicted upon any others.   He admits his fear. He asks to be strengthened. He places trust in the Father’s big plan. He surrenders himself to trusting in the love of the Father for him and for the plan.

Love conquers all fear. 


Love does not remove necessarily the threats, but Love takes the control of these threats away.  Love, to believe and see the good in another and within ourselves.  Love, to believe and trust the Father sees the good in us.  Love, to believe and trust there is purpose and goodness.

This is how Jesus stands firm in the midst of all. He stands firm  Oh, how I wish I could be so firm.  Oh, how I wish we could all be so firm.  Yet, I am not.  And the rest of us?

So we pray each day. We pray to see beyond ourselves, beyond our fears, our sadness, our anger...our egos.  We pray to trust there is Goodness in this world.  We pray to trust there is a plan.  We pray to trust that we can see the plan.

Then we go to live love.  Then we go to live.
We go and we trust there is good in that person in the other room with us as we self isolate.
We go and see the goodness in that person we are angry with, and we forgive them.
We go and listen to that person who has a lot of fear, and we listen well.
We go and be generous with those who are struggling now, with no income.
We have fear, but we also have the Love of God within, and that love is greater than any virus.

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