“Be not afraid.” Pope John Paul II spoke that simple sentence at the Mass of his installation as pope on October 22, 1978 and frequently said those words throughout his pontificate to open our minds and hearts to the strength, hope, and courage that comes from living our faith in our everyday lives. In the Gospel for today’s Mass (Matthew 10:26-33) Jesus says, "Fear no one. Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known. What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light; what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.”

Our lives are full of dreams, expectations, hopes, desires, goals, invitations, and blessings. Not only is this list part of our personal lives for ourselves, other people also have them for us. Most importantly God has them for us. Not everything we hope for or expect become realities for us. In today’s Gospel we see Jesus calling the twelve apostles. At this point they are certainly honored but they have not yet come to see the depth of God’s faith, hope, and love for them. Like you and me they grew in their life with Jesus and they discovered far more in God’s dreams, expectations, hopes, desires, goals, invitations, and blessings for them. They experienced and grew in their wonder awe of Jesus and their presence in His life and love.

At times we see ourselves living in a very fast paced, critical, suspicious, and violent world. When we focus on all that is negative we become defensive, protective, and suspicious. Every move, demand, and opportunity is calculated. We also know that when we love someone we give without counting the cost and are grateful for the opportunity to do so. Gratitude is a key foundation block in our ability and willingness to rise above all that keeps us from loving with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength.

Today we celebrate the Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ. At the Last Supper, the night before He died, Jesus, knowing the horrible passion and death He would face the next day, opened His heart to His disciples and in that process to us, as He took bread and changed it into His Body and took wine and changed it into His blood. Jesus knew the price He would pay for doing what He was doing. Fear, rejection, betrayal, abandonment, and injustice could not and did not dampen His love for us.

As we go through life we meet and encounter many people. Our first encounter is clearly with our family. We are welcomed and become a source of joy and love when we are born. New life does not lessen the love we have for others, but expands our generous and joyful hearts. When difficulties, problems, sickness, and death occur, we seek to comfort one another because of our common family bond. When we meet new people and let them into our lives they come to see the power of our family bond and we see theirs. As children we “fight” or disagree with each other at times, but as we mature we come to see the goodness and love in each other and experience the joy of one another’s presence, love, and company.