29 Dec 2020

Welcome to the Family

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“As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15)

International Year of the Family

In 1994, I met some missionaries from the Alliance of the Holy Family, International (AHFI), a movement dedicated to the sanctification of families through the devotion to the Hearts of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.

I believe it was no coincidence that I met them at Holy Family Church in Artesia, California, the year both Pope St. John Paul II and United Nations declared the International Year of the Family.

The Central Role of the Family in God’s Plan

The AHFI missionaries taught me the importance of the family in God’s Divine plan. Our Lord could have entered into our world as a full-grown adult possessing all material wealth and power, but instead, He chose to be born into a poor, humble family as a helpless babe. Through this act, God revealed the central role of the family in His plan of salvation.

The family is the basic unit of society where we first learn how to love and be loved. It is the foundation for learning how to build healthy, loving relationships, which is what life is all about.

The family is also known as a “domestic church” because it is the first place we learn about God and prayer. The first-century Christians called the family ecclesiola, which in Greek means “little church.”

Families Under Attack

The AHFI missionaries taught me about spiritual warfare and how the family is constantly under attack. The devil knows that there can be no true peace in the world if there is no true peace in our hearts and homes.

This idea resonated with me because I felt I had grown up in a war zone with constant yelling and fighting. We never really learned how to communicate with words of love or how to build healthy relationships.

Unfortunately, many families around the world are broken and dysfunctional to varying degrees. As a result, many individuals, including myself, never learned how to love or be loved.

Hope and Healing for Families

Although our families may not be perfect, it is essential to know that there is hope and healing for each of us, including family members who seem too far gone. God can heal our brokenness and make us whole if we allow Him.

We are all part of a much bigger family who can help us build a culture of love and guide us in our spiritual journey toward heaven.

To show us how to build healthy, loving relationships with God and one another, Our Lord gave us the Holy Family as a model for all families. Through the hearts of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, we can learn how to be united in love, “being one in spirit and of one mind” (Phil. 2:2).

Though each family member has a different role to play, the Holy Family can teach us how to work together with the common goal of loving and serving God and neighbor.

Letter to Families from JP2

The following is an excerpt from Pope St. John Paul II’s Letter to Families during the 1994 Year of the Family:

The history of mankind, the history of salvation, passes by way of the family. In these pages I have tried to show how the family is placed at the centre of the great struggle between good and evil, between life and death, between love and all that is opposed to love. To the family is entrusted the task of striving, first and foremost, to unleash the forces of good, the source of which is found in Christ the Redeemer of man. Every family unit needs to make these forces their own so that, to use a phrase spoken on the occasion of the Millennium of Christianity in Poland, the family will be “strong with the strength of God“. This is why the present Letter has sought to draw inspiration from the apostolic exhortations found in the writings of Paul (cf. 1 Cor 7:1-40; Eph 5:21-6:9; Col 3:25) and the Letters of Peter and John (cf. 1 Pet 3:1-7; 1 Jn 2:12-17). Despite the differences in their historical and cultural contexts, how similar are the experiences of Christians and families then and now!

. . . May the Holy Family, icon and model of every human family, help each individual to walk in the spirit of Nazareth. May it help each family unit to grow in understanding of its particular mission in society and the Church by hearing the Word of God, by prayer and by a fraternal sharing of life. May Mary, Mother of “Fairest Love”, and Joseph, Guardian of the Redeemer, accompany us all with their constant protection.

With these sentiments I bless every family in the name of the Most Holy Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Given in Rome, at Saint Peter’s, on 2 February, the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, in the year 1994, the sixteenth of my Pontificate. John Paul II

(Click here if you would like to read the whole letter)

Welcome to the Family

I learned many more wonderful things about my faith from the AHFI missionaries, including some beautiful praise and worship songs. One of my favorites is called “Welcome to the Family” (by Ernie & Debbie K. Rettino). It is a children’s song, but adults may also enjoy it. The AHFI missionaries taught us the action song version with sign language.

St. Augustine, one of the greatest Christian thinkers from the 4th century, said, “He who sings prays twice.” The AHFI missionaries added, “He who sings with action, prays thrice!” Below are the lyrics to “Welcome to the Family” (If you would like to hear the tune and sing along, click here):

Welcome to the family, we’re glad that you have come
to share your life with us as we grow in LOVE and
May we always be to you what God would have us be
A family always there to be strong and to lean on.

May we learn to LOVE each other more with each new day.
May words of LOVE be on our lips in everything we say.
May the Spirit melt our hearts and teach us how to pray,
That we might be a true family.

28 Aug 2020

Our Restless Hearts

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Our hearts were created to love and be loved, and long for perfect union with God who is Love.  All the pleasures in the world cannot satisfy our restless hearts.

St. Augustine, in his Confessions, declared to Our Lord:  “You have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.”

15 Sep 2019

Stand Firm and Without Fear

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When young David faced the giant Goliath, he had no fear in his heart because he knew the Lord was with him.

When we have a strong, loving relationship with God, we have nothing to fear, not even death.

The exact opposite of faith is fear. Faith gives us the courage and hope to face the unknown. Fear paralyzes us and fills us with anxiety and dread.

Faith helps us to seek the truth and find reasonable solutions to our problems. Fear causes us to think irrationally, waste time worrying, and make big mistakes.

More than 100 bible verses remind us to be strong in our faith and not allow fear to overcome us.

The words “Do not be afraid” and similar sentiments are a common theme throughout the Old and New Testaments. Below are some verses from Genesis to Revelation, the first and last books in the bible:

  1. Genesis 15:1 – After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: ‘Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.’
  2. Genesis 21:17 –God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her ‘What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid; God has heard the boy crying as he lies there.’
  3. Genesis 26:24 – That night the Lord appeared to him and said, ‘I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bless you and will increase the number of your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham.’
  4. Genesis 35:17 – And as she was having great difficulty in childbirth, the midwife said to her ‘Don’t despair, for you have another son’
  5. Genesis 43:23 – ‘It’s all right’, he said. ‘Don’t be afraid. Your God, the God of your father, has given you treasure in your sacks; I received your silver.’ Then he brought Simeon out to them. 
  6. Genesis 46:3 – ‘I am God, the God of your father,’ he said. ‘Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there.’
  7. Genesis 50:19 – But Joseph said to them, ‘Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God?’
  8. Genesis 50:21 – ‘So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.’ And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them. 
  9. Exodus 14:13 – Moses answered the people, ‘Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again.’
  10. Exodus 20:20 – Moses said to the people ‘Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.’
  11. Leviticus 26:6 –I will grant peace in the land, and you will lie down and no one will make you afraid. I will remove wild beasts from the land and the sword will not pass through your country.
  12. Number 14:9 – Only do not rebel against the Lord. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will devour them. Their protection is gone, but the Lord is with us. Do not be afraid of them. 
  13. Numbers 21:34 – The Lord said to Moses, ‘Do not be afraid of him, for I have delivered him into your hands, along with his whole army and his land. Do to him what you did to Sihon King of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon.’
  14. Deuteronomy 1:17 – Do not show partiality in judging; hear both small and great alike. Do not be afraid of anyone, for judgment belongs to God.
  15. Deuteronomy 1:21 – See, the Lord your God has given you the land. Go up and take possession of it as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, told you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.
  16. Deuteronomy 1:29 –Then I said to you, ‘Do not be terrified; do not be afraid of them.’
  17. Deuteronomy 3:2 – The Lord said to me ‘Do not be afraid of him, for I have delivered him into your hands, along with his whole army and his land. Do to him what you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon
  18. Deuteronomy 3:22 – Do not be afraid of them; the Lord you God himself will fight for you.
  19. Deuteronomy 7:18 – But do not be afraid of them; remember well what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt.
  20. Deuteronomy 20:1 – When you go to war against your enemies and see horses and chariots and an army greater than yours, do not be afraid of them, because the Lord your God, who brought you up out of Egypt, will be with you. 
  21. Deuteronomy 20:3 – He shall say: ‘Hear, Israel: today you are going into battle against your enemies. Do not be faint-hearted or afraid; do not panic or be terrified by them.’
  22. Deuteronomy 31:6 –‘Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.’
  23. Deuteronomy 31:8 – ‘The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.’
  24. Joshua 1:9 – ‘Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.’
  25. Joshua 8:1 – Then the Lord said to Joshua, ‘Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Take the whole army with you, and go up and attack Ai. For I have delivered into your hands the king of Ai, his people, his city and his land.’
  26. Joshua 10:8 – The Lord said to Joshua, ‘Do not be afraid of them; I have given them into your hand. Not one of them will be able to withstand you.’
  27. Joshua 10:25 – Joshua said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Be strong and courageous. This is what the Lord will do to all the enemies you are going to fight.’
  28. Joshua 11:6 – The Lord said to Joshua, ‘Do not be afraid of them, because by this time tomorrow I will hand all of them, slain, over to Israel. You are to hamstring their horses and burn their chariots’
  29. Judges 4:18 – Jael went out to meet Sisera and said to him, ‘Come, my lord, come right in. Don’t be afraid.’ So he entered her tent and she covered him with a blanket.
  30. Judges 6:23 – But the Lord said to him, ‘Peace! Do not be afraid. You are not going to die.’
  31. I Samuel 4:20 – As she was dying the women attending her said, ‘Don’t despair; you have given birth to a son.’ But she did not respond or pay any attention.’
  32. I Samuel 12:20 – ‘Do no be afraid,’ Samuel replied. ‘You have done all this evil; yet do not turn away from the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart.’
  33. I Samuel 22:23 – Stay with me; don’t be afraid. The man who wants to kill you is trying to kill me too. You will be safe with me.’
  34. I Samuel 23:17 – ‘Don’t be afraid,’ he said. ‘My father Saul will not lay a hand on you. You shall be king over Israel, and I will be second to you. Even my father Saul knows this.’
  35. I Samuel 28:13 – The king said to her, ‘Don’t be afraid. What do you see?’
  36. II Samuel 9:7 – ‘Don’t be afraid,’ David said to him, ‘for I will surely show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan. I will restore to you all the land that belonged to your grandfather Saul, and  you will always eat at my table.’
  37. I Kings 17:13 – Elijah said to her, ‘Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small loaf of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and make something for yourself and your son.’
  38. II Kings 1:15 – The angel of the Lord said to Elijah, ‘Go down with him; do not be afraid of him.’ So Elijah got up and went down with him to the king.  
  39. II Kings 6:16 –  ‘Don’t be afraid,’ the prophet answered. ‘Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.’
  40. II Kings 19:6 –Isaiah said to them, ‘Tell your master, “This is what the Lord says: do not be afraid of what you have heard – those words with which the underlings of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me.”’
  41. II Kings 25:24 – Gedaliah took an oath to reassure them and their men. ‘Do not be afraid of the Babylonian officials, he said. ‘Settle down in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it will go will with you.’
  42. I Chronicles 22:13 – Then you will have success if you are careful to observe the decrees and laws that the Lord gave to Moses for Israel. Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged. 
  43. I chronicles 28:20 –David also said to Solomon his son, ‘Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you until all the work for the tempe of the Lord is finished.’
  44. II Chronicles 20:15 – He said: ‘Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the Lord says to you: “Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s”’
  45. II Chronicles 20:17 –“You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you, Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. God out to face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you.”
  46. II Chronicles 32:7 – ‘Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged because of the king of Assyria and the vast army with him, for there is a greater power with us than with him.’
  47. Nehemiah 4:14 – After I looked things over, I stood up and said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people,‘Don’t be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your families, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes.’
  48. Job 5:21 – You will be protected from the last of the tongue, and need not fear when destruction comes.
  49. Job 11:15 – then, free of fault, you will lift up your face; you will stand firm and without fear.
  50. Job 21:9 – Their homes are safe and free from fear; the rod of God is not on them.
  51. Psalm 3:6 –I will not fear though tens of thousands assail me on every side.
  52. Psalm 4:8 –In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety.
  53. Psalm 16:7-9 I will praise the Lord who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With him at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure.
  54. Psalm 23:4 Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff they comfort me.
  55. Psalm 27:1 The Lord is my light and my salvation – whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life – of whom shall I be afraid? 
  56. Psalm 27:3 – Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then I will be confident.
  57. Psalm 29:11 –The Lord gives strength to his people; the Lord blesses his people with peace. 
  58. Psalm 46:2 – Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea.
  59. Psalm 56: 3-4 – When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise – in God I trust and am not afraid. What can mere mortals do to me? 
  60. Psalm 56:11 – in God I trust and not afraid.What can man do to me? 
  61. Psalm 78:53 – He guided them safely, so they were unafraid; but the sea engulfed their enemies.
  62. Psalm 91:5 – You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day,
  63. Psalm 94:19 – When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy.
  64. Psalm 118:6 – The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?
  65. Psalm 119:165 –Great peace have those who love your law, and nothing can make them strumble. 
  66. Proverbs 3:24 – When you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.
  67. Proverbs 3:25 – Have no fear of sudden disaster or of the ruin that overtakes the wicked
  68. Ecclesiastes 11:10 – So then, banish anxiety from your heart and cast off the troubles of your body, for youth and vigour are meaningless. 
  69. Isaiah 7:4 – Say to him “Be careful, keep calm and don’t be afraid. Do not lose heart because of these two smouldering stubs of firewood – because of the fierce anger or Rezin and Aram and of the son of Remaliah.”
  70. Isaiah 8:12 – ‘Do not call conspiracy everything this people calls a conspiracy; do not fear what they fear, and do not dread it.’
  71. Isaiah 10:24 – Therefore this is what the Lord, the Lord Almighty, says: ‘My people who live in Zion, do not be afraid of the Assyrians, who beat you with a rod and lift up a club against you, as Egypt did.’
  72. Isaiah 12:2 – Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord, the Lord himself, is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation.’
  73. Isaiah 17:2 – The cities of Aroer will be deserted and left to flocks, which will lie down, with no one to make them afraid.
  74. Isaiah 26:3 – You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you. 
  75. Isaiah 35:4 – say to those with fearful hearts, ‘Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you.’
  76. Isaiah 37:6 – Isaiah said to them, ‘Tell your master, “This is what the Lord says: do not be afraid of what you have heard – those words with which the underlings of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me.’
  77. Isaiah 40:9 – You who bring good news to Zion, go up on a high mountain. You who bring good news to Jerusalem, lift up your voice with a shout, lift it up, do not be afraid; say to the towns of Judah, ‘Here is your God!’
  78. Isaiah 41:10 – So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. 
  79. Isaiah 41:13 –For I am the Lord you God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, ‘Do not fear; I will help you.’ 
  80. Isaiah 41:14 – ‘Do not be afraid, you worm Jacob, little Israel, do not fear, for I myself will help you’ declares the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.
  81. Isaiah 43:1 – But now, this is what the Lord says – he who created you, Jacob, he who formed you, Israel: ‘Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.’
  82. Isaiah 43:5 – Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west.
  83. Isaiah 44:2 – This is what the Lord says – he who made you, who formed you in the womb, and who will help you: do not be afraid, Jacob, my servant, Jeshurun, whom I have chosen.
  84. Isaiah 44:8 – Do not tremble, do not be afraid. Did I not proclaim this and foretell it long ago? You are my witnesses. Is there any God besides me? No, there is no other Rock; I know not one.’
  85. Isaiah 51:7 – ‘Hear me, you who know what is right, you people who have taken my instruction to heart: do not fear the reproach of mere mortals or be terrified by their insults’
  86. Isaiah 54:4 – ‘Do not be afraid; you will not be put to shame. Do not fear disgrace; you will not be humiliated. You will forget the shame of your youth and remember no more the reproach of your widowhood.’
  87. Isaiah 54:14 – In righteousness you will be established: tyranny will be far from you; you will have nothing to fear. Terror will be far removed; it will not come near you.
  88. Jeremiah 1:8 – ‘Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,’ declares the Lord
  89. Jeremiah 10:5 – Like a scarecrow in a cucumber field, their idols cannot speak; they must be carried because they cannot walk. Do not fear them; they can do you no harm nor can they do any good.’
  90. Jeremiah 17:8 – They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.’
  91. Jeremiah 30:10 – “So do not be afraid, Jacob, my servant; do not be dismayed, Israel,” declares the Lord. “I will surely save you out of a distant place, your descendants from the land of their exile. Jacob will again have peace and security, and no one will make him afraid.”
  92. Jeremiah 40:9 – Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, took an oath to reassure them and their men. ‘Do not be afraid to serve the Babylonians,’ he said. ‘Settle down in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it will go well with you.’
  93. Jeremiah 42:11 – Do not be afraid of the king of Babylon, whom you now fear. Do not be afraid of him, declares the Lord, for I am with you and will save you and deliver you from his hands. 
  94. Jeremiah 46:27 – ‘Do not be afraid, Jacob my servant; do not be dismayed, Israel. I will surely save you out of a distant place, your descendants from the land of their exile. Jacob will again have peace and security, and no one will make him afraid.’
  95. Jeremiah 46:28 – Do not be afraid, Jacob my servant, for I am with you; declares the Lord. ‘Though I completely destroy all the nations among which I scatter you, I will not completely destroy you. I will discipline you but only in due measure; I will not let you go entirely unpunished.’
  96. Jeremiah 51:46 –Do not lose heart or be afraid when rumours are heard in the land; one rumour comes this year, another the next, rumours of violence in the land and of ruler against ruler. 
  97. Lamentations 3:57 – You came near when I called you and you said. ‘Do not fear.’
  98. Ezekiel 3:9 – I will make your forehead like the hardest stone, harder than flint. Do not be afraid of them or terrified by them, though they are a rebellious people.
  99. Daniel 10:12 – Then he continued, ‘Do not be afraid. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them.’
  100. Daniel 10:19 – ‘Do not be afraid, you who are highly esteemed,’ he said. ‘Peace! Be strong now; be strong;’ When he spoke to me, I was strengthened and said, ‘Speak , my lord, since you have given me strength.’
  101. Joel 2:21-22 – Do not be afraid, land of Judah; be glad and rejoice. Surely the Lord has done great things! Do not be afraid, you wild animals, for the pastures in the wilderness are becoming green. The trees are bearing their fruit; the fig-tree and the vine yield their riches.
  102. Zephaniah 3:16 –On that day they will say to Jerusalem, ‘Do not fear, Zion; do not let your hands hang limp.’
  103. Haggai 2:5 –“This is what I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt. And my Spirit remains among you. Do not fear.”
  104. Zechariah 8:13 – ‘Just as you, Judah and Israel, have been a curse among the nations, so I will save you and you will be a blessing. Do not be afraid, but let your hands be strong.’
  105. Zechariah 8:15 – ‘so now I have determined to do good again to Jerusalem and Judah. Do not be afraid.’
  106. Matthew 1:20 – But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said ‘Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.’
  107. Matthew 6:25-34 – Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes: Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grown. They do not labour or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendour was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you – you of little faith? So do not worry, saying “What shall we eat?” or “What shall we drink?” or “What shall we wear?” For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness , and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. 
  108. Matthew 10:19 –But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say.
  109. Matthew 10:26 – ‘So do not be afraid of them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known.’
  110. Matthew 10:28 – Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. 
  111. Matthew 10:31 – So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
  112. Matthew 14:27 – But Jesus immediately said to them: ‘Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.’
  113. Matthew 17:7 – But Jesus came and touched them. ‘Get up,’ he said. ‘Don’t be afraid.’
  114. Matthew 28:5 – The angel said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified.’
  115. Matthew 28:10 –Then Jesus said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to to go Galilee; there they will see me.’
  116. Mark 5:36 – Overhearing what they said, Jesus told him, ‘Don’t be afraid; just believe.’
  117. Mark 6:50 –because they all saw him and were terrified. Immediately he spoke to them and said, ‘Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.’
  118. Mark 13:11 – Whenever you are arrested and brought to trail, do not worry beforehand about what to say. Just say whatever is given you at the time, for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit. 
  119. Luke 1:13 – But the angel said to him: ‘Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John.’
  120. Luke 1:30 – But the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favour with God.’ 
  121. Luke 2:10 – But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.’
  122. Luke 5:10 – and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners. Then Jesus said to Simon, ‘Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.’
  123. Luke 8:50 –Hearing this, Jesus said to Jairus, ‘Don’t be afraid; just believe, and she will be healed.’
  124. Luke 12:4 – ‘I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more.’
  125. Luke 12:7 –Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
  126. Luke 12:11 – When you are brought before synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say,
  127. Luke 12:32 – ‘Do not be afraid, little flock, for your  Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.’
  128. John 6:20 – But he said to them, ‘It is I; don’t be afraid.’
  129. John 12:15 – ‘Do not be afraid, Daughter Zion; see, your king is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt’
  130. John 14:27 –Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
  131. John 16:33 – ‘I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.’
  132. Acts 18:9 – One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: ‘Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent.’
  133. Acts 27:24 – and said, “Do not be afraid, You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.”
  1. Hebrews 13:6 – So we say with confidence, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?’
  2. Philipppians 4:6 – Do not be anxious about anything but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
  3. I Peter 3:6 – like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her lord. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear.
  4. I Peter 3:14 – But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. ‘Do not fear their threats; do not be frightened.’
  5. 1 Peter 5:7 – Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
  6. 1 John 4:18 – There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. 
  7. Revelation 1:17 – When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: ‘Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last.’
  8. Revelation 2:10 – Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown.