Fear not - have confidence in God

Few Christians, even among the most fervent, possess that confidence which excludes all anxiety and all doubt.

The Gospel tells us that the miraculous draft of fish terrorized Saint Peter. With his habitual impetuosity, he measured at a glance the infinite distance that separated his own littleness from the greatness of Our Lord. He trembled with holy fear and prostrated himself with his face to the ground, crying out: ‘Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.’

Like the Apostle, some souls have this terror. They feel their sinfulness and their misery so keenly that they scarcely dare approach Him Who is Holiness itself. To them it seems that the all-holy God must experience revulsion upon inclining Himself toward them. This unhappy impression hampers their interior life and at times paralyzes it completely.

How mistaken are these souls!

Immediately, Jesus approached the frightened Apostle and said to him, ‘Fear not,’ and made him rise.

You also, Christians, you who have received so many proofs of His love, fear not! Above all, Our Lord is concerned that you might fear Him. Your imperfections, your weaknesses, your most serious faults, your repeated relapses, nothing will discourage Him, so long as you sincerely wish to repent. The more miserable you are, the more He has pity on your misery, the more He desires to fulfill His mission as Savior in your regard. Was it not above all to call sinners that He came to the earth?

-- The Book of Confidence by Fr Thomas de Saint-Laurent