Why We Should Not Be Afraid: Jesus, Fear, and the Love of the Father

 12 Sunday Ordinary Time, year A

Fear is a natural part of human life, but it can become harmful when it holds us back from loving God, loving others, and following Christ more fully. In the Gospel, Jesus reminds us that God is a loving Father who knows us intimately, cares for us deeply, and sees even the smallest details of our lives. Because we are held in the Father’s love, we can bring our fears to him with trust and hear again the words of Jesus: do not be afraid.

Listen to homily here:

Read homily here:

So, who do you think will win the World Cup? It is dangerous to ask that question, so I am not going to get into that debate here. But hopefully you have been able to see some footage on television, or perhaps you have been able to go downtown and experience the atmosphere. I was walking downtown the other day, and it was really charged and exciting. Yes, perhaps we can look at it and say that it is a bit commercial, but there is something special there too: the world coming together, a sense of unity.

When I was there and saw everyone gathered together, what struck me was the emotion. There was so much emotion on display at the World Cup: joy, hope, and even fear, perhaps fear that the team you support will not do as well as you hope. Emotions are part of what makes us human. They are central to who we are. But there is one particular emotion that I think we struggle with, and it is an emotion displayed in the Gospel today, an emotion Jesus speaks about: fear.

We can be afraid of many things, some important and some not so important. But all of us have fears. In the first reading today, we hear about the prophet Jeremiah. Jeremiah had a very difficult mission. He is often called the weeping prophet. He was alive in Jerusalem just before Babylon came to destroy the city. He tried again and again to warn the people, but they would not listen. Instead, they listened to false prophets. They imprisoned Jeremiah and turned against him. In the first reading, Jeremiah is afraid, not only for his own safety, but also for what might happen to his beloved people. He experiences the emotion of fear very profoundly.

In the responsorial psalm today, we also hear one of those psalms that speaks about a righteous person suffering unjustly, someone rejected and scorned. This person also experiences fear.

In our own lives, we can experience fear about many things. We can be afraid of a health struggle, either our own or that of someone we care about. We can be afraid of losing our jobs, or afraid that we will not find work. We can be afraid that certain relationships will not work out in the way we hope. And yes, we can even be afraid that our favourite team will not win the World Cup.

Fear is a very human and natural emotion. Do you think Jesus was ever afraid? Did he experience fear? I think when we look at the Gospels, we can see that he did. Jesus was truly human. In the Incarnation, we believe that Jesus is like us in all things but sin. Before he died, Jesus went to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray. There, he experienced fear, worry, and difficulty. Yes, he surrendered everything to his Father, but he truly experienced these emotions that we also experience.

Fear is a normal and natural part of being human. At times, fear can even help us. Some of you may have seen footage of the free climber Alex Honnold. A few years ago, he free soloed El Capitan in Yosemite National Park. That means he climbed this enormous rock face with no ropes. Did any of you see that? I did not, because I am terrified of heights. I cannot watch that. Recently, he did something similar on a skyscraper. Again, I could not watch it.

For him, he is able to face his fear in an extraordinary way. But I am terrified of heights. If I am on a high building, I cannot really look over a ledge if it is too low. That fear, of course, is meant to protect us in some way. It helps us avoid things that might harm us. Fear can guard us from danger and difficulty. In that sense, fear can be helpful.

The problem comes when our fears get away from us, when they prevent us from doing good things in our lives, and ultimately when they prevent us from loving God and neighbour more fully. In the Gospel today, Jesus addresses this kind of fear and gives us a beautiful truth, a hopeful message, about how we can keep our fears in check.

Jesus proclaims that we have a God who is a Father, a God who is not distant from us, but who cares for us intimately. Jesus uses the image of sparrows. Sparrows were so plentiful and could be purchased for a small amount. They may not have seemed very valuable to people, but Jesus says that even these sparrows are watched over and cared for by God. How much more, then, does God care for each one of us?

Everything we do is under God’s notice. God is always caring for us. For this reason, we should not be afraid. God is a Father who loves us.

This weekend, as we celebrate Father’s Day, we can consider how the love of our own fathers, grandfathers, and father figures can reflect the love of God, a love that cares for us and protects us. God is a loving Father who knows all that is happening in our lives. For this reason, we should not be afraid.

Jesus also shows us in the Gospel that some of the things we fear, some of the things that might harm us, will not be able to harm us forever. God, in his plan, may allow certain things to continue for a time, but Jesus says that eventually they will come to an end. God is a righteous judge. All that is hidden will be revealed. Evil will not be allowed to continue indefinitely. God is loving, and God has a plan for us.

Fear has a place in our lives, but we should be careful that it does not overcome us or prevent us from living the life of joy, goodness, and discipleship that Christ calls us to live.

At this Mass, let us reflect in our hearts: what causes me fear? What holds me back from following Jesus fully? Is there some area in my life where fear can paralyze me? At this Mass, let us bring these fears to the Lord. As we do so, let us remember that God truly is a loving Father. God is always there, caring for us. Let us recommit ourselves to the hope that God is always there to help us. For this reason, we should not be afraid.

Corpus Christi: Receiving the Eucharist and Becoming the Body of Christ

 Corpus Christi 2026

This Corpus Christi reflection explains that the Eucharist is the greatest gift we receive, Jesus himself becoming bread for our journey. Yet the Eucharist does not leave us as passive receivers; it transforms us into the body of Christ, sent out to become a gift for others. Our “Amen” at Communion is therefore not only an act of belief, but a renewed commitment to continue the mission of Jesus in the world.

Listen to homily here:

Read homily here:

I think that, for most of us, we like receiving things. We like to receive gifts. We like to receive compliments. We like to receive money. We like to receive reminders from a parent or a spouse about something we have forgotten to do. Okay, maybe not that last one. But in general, we like receiving things. It comes naturally to us.

And receiving gifts is a very important and beautiful thing. Today’s feast of Corpus Christi, however, shows us something very interesting. On Corpus Christi, we are reminded that in the Eucharist we are transformed. We are transformed from being people who receive, which is already a great blessing, into people who give. This is really the whole dynamism of the Eucharist. We move from receiving a gift to giving ourselves, to becoming a gift for others.

Let us begin by thinking about the gift we receive in the Eucharist. Of course, we treat the Eucharist with great respect and reverence, as we should. When the Eucharist is reserved in the tabernacle, we recognize that this is not something ordinary. This reverence reminds us that the Eucharist is truly the body and blood of Jesus Christ.

But we should never lose sight of the way Jesus chose to be present with us in the Eucharist.

Think about this for a moment. Most of us have been to a museum before. In museums, we find all kinds of precious things: jewelry, paintings, ancient artifacts, rare objects, and valuable items that we might not find anywhere else. But do you know what you will almost never find in a museum? Bread.

Now, I know that a lot of people got into sourdough during the pandemic, and some might think their sourdough is worthy of being kept in a museum. I am not going to argue with them at this point. But normally, bread does not belong in a museum. Bread has a very simple purpose. Bread is food. Bread is nourishment. Bread gives life.

This was especially true at the time of Jesus. In many languages, the word for bread can also mean food. In Hebrew, for example, lehem means bread or food. That is where we get the name Bethlehem, which means “house of bread.” Bread is something basic, something necessary, something that gives strength and life.

So when Jesus chose how to remain with us, he chose something very interesting. He did not choose to remain with us in some grand or flashy way. He chose to become food for us. He chose to become bread for the journey.

We already see this idea in the first reading. The people of Israel have been freed from slavery in Egypt, and they are making their way through the wilderness. On this journey, they struggle. They are tempted. They fall. They come under threat. And what does God do? God gives them bread in the form of manna. This bread nourishes them, saves them, and helps them continue on their journey.

In the Eucharist, Jesus fulfils this gift of manna. We too, as the Church, are on a journey. And on this journey, we need food. We need nourishment. Jesus tells us in the Gospel that he is the bread of life. He is not simply bread that nourishes the body. He nourishes our whole being.

The Eucharist is the body and blood of Christ. When we receive the Eucharist, we receive food for eternal life. The Eucharist strengthens us on our journey here and now so that we can follow Jesus. It also leads us toward heaven, toward eternal life.

The Eucharist, then, is something precious. It is the greatest gift we receive. But we should never lose sight of the fact that this gift comes to us in something simple and basic: bread, food, nourishment for the journey. And this journey does not last only for this life. It leads into eternity.

The Eucharist is truly something we receive. It is a great gift. But if we stop there, we miss something essential. The Eucharist is meant to transform us into people who give. It is meant to transform us into people who become gifts for others.

At the end of Mass, do you remember the last words the priest says? The priest does not say, “The Mass is ended, relax.” The priest says, “Go forth, the Mass is ended,” or “Go and announce the Gospel of the Lord,” or “Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your life.”

Go.

At the end of Mass, right after we have received the Eucharist, we are sent out. We are sent on a mission.

What is this mission? St. Paul speaks about it in the second reading. He writes to the Corinthian community, a community experiencing all kinds of tensions and divisions. They have lost sight of what is most important. So Paul reminds them that when they receive the Eucharist, they become one. They become one loaf. More than this, they become one body. They become the body of Christ.

We, the Church, continue the mission of Jesus on earth, here and now.

Sometimes people ask where God is. They look at the suffering, confusion, and difficulty in the world, and they wonder, “Where is God?” Of course, God is always present. But perhaps we also need to ask ourselves a serious question. If people are having a hard time finding God in the world, in their workplace, in their school, in their family, or in their community, could it be because we are not fully living the mission of Christ? Could it be because we are not truly being the body of Christ in the world?

We are called to continue the mission of Jesus. We are called to serve. We are called to be with those who are in need. We are called to show love, compassion, mercy, and care.

In baptism, we are first united to the body of Christ. We become part of the Church. We begin to share in the mission of Jesus. And the Eucharist is the food that continues to unite us, strengthen us, and send us out so that we can be the body of Christ in the world.

Jesus truly made himself a gift for others. In John’s Gospel, Jesus says, “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” In other words, the greatest love is to make one’s life a gift.

This is what the Eucharist is meant to do in us. It transforms us. We are not only people who receive gifts, although we certainly need to receive, and the Eucharist is the greatest gift of all. We are also transformed to become like Jesus. We are transformed to become people who give ourselves for others.

When we receive the Eucharist, it is an opportunity to recommit ourselves to this mission. It is an opportunity to recommit ourselves to being the body of Christ in the world.

Once, I was at a retreat, and a priest said something about receiving Communion that changed the way I thought about the Eucharist. Sometimes receiving Communion can seem like a very passive act. We come forward, the priest or extraordinary minister gives us the host, we receive it, and we return to our place. It can seem as though all we are doing is receiving.

But this priest said we need to change our mentality. He said that receiving Communion is more like renewing our agreement to follow God’s covenant.

Because when we receive the Eucharist, we are not doing nothing. We have our part to play. The priest or extraordinary minister holds up the host and says, “The Body of Christ.” And we respond, “Amen.”

That word matters.

Amen is a very important word. It comes from Hebrew and means something like “truly,” “I believe,” “so it is,” or “I agree.” So when the priest or extraordinary minister says, “The Body of Christ,” and we say, “Amen,” we are not simply saying, “Yes, I believe this is Jesus.” That is very important, of course. But we are also saying something more.

We are saying, “Amen. I agree. I believe. I accept this mission.”

We are saying, “I receive the body of Christ, and I want to become the body of Christ in the world.”

So receiving Communion is not simply passive. It is active. When we say “Amen,” we are making a commitment. We are agreeing to be Christ’s presence in the world.

When I heard that, it made a great impact on me. Receiving Communion is not only about receiving the Eucharist, although it certainly is that. It is also about choosing to become Christ’s presence in the world.

The Eucharist is all about this movement. We receive the greatest gift of all, the body and blood of Jesus Christ. But this gift transforms us. It sends us out. It makes us people who give ourselves for others.

So today, as we celebrate Corpus Christi, and each time we come forward to receive Communion, let us pay attention to that simple word: Amen.

When we say Amen, let us remember what we are saying. We are saying that we believe Jesus is truly present in the Eucharist. We are saying that we receive this gift with gratitude. And we are saying that we are ready to become what we receive: the body of Christ, given for the life of the world.