The human heart is susceptible to many things.The Scriptures today reach out to us concerning causes of and true fear.
Today’s gathering follows quickly on the heels of the Feasts of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The first speaks to the truth of Our Savior, from whose heart flows the grace that he has achieved for us in his own suffering and death, a heart that “broke” for the betrayal that surrounded him in his final days ( a heart that was pierced in his final death agony. The second speaks to the truth of who we are called to be in response to the Paschal Mystery of Christ. With Mary, we are called to store up all treasures in our hearts, to trust in Christ when that is easy to do, and even more so to trust in Christ when things seems hopeless, the days that seem like the road to the cross, and even those days when we feel we are at the foot of the cross looking up, or on the cross nearby looking to where Christ has been willing to hang near us.
Today, Jeremiah calls out to us to speak in and from our heart that the Lord our God is with us as our champion. Paul reminds the Romans and us that whatever the measure of the transgression, so much greater is the gifts of grace for freedom in Jesus Christ. And In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus tells us not to fear, since who we are and how God has chosen to bless us exceeds what we see around us.
Yes, there seems to be much to cause fear. And, yes, we are susceptible. But, because of Christ and in his grace, we know in faith. We can observe in the agility of a chipmunk, in a bird on the wing, in the majesty of a sunset, and the simple power of a young child’s laughter.