fear

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theresaavey

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How can someone accept God’s will? And truly believe its from God…like believing and accepting teaching out of fact or idk but rather than fear.
What if everything is based on fear…how does someone overcome that fear and truly believe?
 
Fear of the Lord is one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. It is good to have a healthy fear of the Lord because that helps to guide us to do what is right. But as we grow in our spiritual life we strive to do things out of love rather than fear of the Lord. And the beginning of growing in that love is the desire to love God as He should be loved.
 
zab said:
Fear of the Lord is one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. It is good to have a healthy fear of the Lord because that helps to guide us to do what is right. But as we grow in our spiritual life we strive to do things out of love rather than fear of the Lord. And the beginning of growing in that love is the desire to love God as He should be loved.
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What if fear prevents doing things out of love?
 
theresaavey said:
What if fear prevents doing things out of love?
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Even having a desire to do things out of love is good. I used to be afraid to pray before eating in a restaurant. It took many years for me to even just bow my head without making the sign of the cross. Now I have gotten the courage to make the sign of the cross before praying before meals in public (and I am still fearful of others watching me). It all begins with a desire. Continually ask God’s help to be the saint that he wants you to be.
 
theresaavey said:
How can someone accept God’s will? And truly believe its from God…like believing and accepting teaching out of fact or idk but rather than fear.
What if everything is based on fear…how does someone overcome that fear and truly believe?
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We need to stop seeing God as our judge and know that he is our FATHER.
 
theresaavey said:
How can someone accept God’s will? And truly believe its from God…like believing and accepting teaching out of fact or idk but rather than fear.
What if everything is based on fear…how does someone overcome that fear and truly believe?
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The fear you describe is a fear you must overcome to truly believe. But that is not the Fear of God 🙂

Considered one of the 7 gifts of the Holy Spirit, Fear of God is also called “wonder and awe”: through it, we are aware of God’s glory and majesty, and the scriptures define it as the “foundation of wisdom”.

The Lord Jesus taught us that God is merciful and full of love. This because we often consider God as someone who is there to point His finger and condemn us. Well, God told us something else:
I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.
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I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.
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“Fear of God”, then, is not the *servile *fear that the third servant had when he kept the gold coin in a handkerchief (Lk 19:11-28)…such fear greatly displeases the Lord…st. Thomas Aquinas talks of it instead as a fear of being separated from God…fear of losing the Beloved…fear of offending the Father…a filial fear…the Doctor Angelicus also writes that “the gift of fear of the Lord corresponds to the virtue of hope.”

Rev. Brian Shanley, O.P., wrote:
What the gifts do over and above the theological virtues (which they presuppose) is dispose the agent to the special promptings of the Holy Spirit in actively exercising the life of the virtues; the gifts are necessary for the perfect operations of the virtues
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An example of this is contrition: imperfect contrition is moved by fear of punishment, while perfect contrition is moved by fear of having offended God, who is infinitely good.

St. Thomas Aquinas defines two other kinds of fears:
  • worldly fear (wherein we fear some evil or threat from the world)
  • human fear (wherein we fear some evil or threat from others)
A Catholic article here. There is also another article called Studying the Fear of the Lord in the Psalms.

“Fear of the Lord” reminds me specifically of the encounter between the Lord and Mary Magdalene…this painter was able to depict it wonderfully on her expression (see full size).
Dicit ei Iesus: “Maria!”
Conversa illa, dicit ei: “Rabboni!”, quod dicitur magister.
Dicit ei Iesus: “noli me tangere, nondum enim ascendi ad Patrem meum.
Vade autem ad fratres meos
et dic eis ascendo ad Patrem meum et Patrem vestrum
et Deum meum et Deum vestrum”
 
It’s easy. I’ll give you a few contexts to hold:

If you confess your sins, they are forgotten. What is left is every big or minor act of charity you have ever done. When you go before the judge all that will be left to proclaim is all of your acts of love. It will be something to look forward to.

Instead of fulfilling obligations do things to put a smile on Jesus face.

Remember, “God brings about a greater good from the things we do wrong than if we had never done them.” -St. Augustine (That’s why He is God)

“Even when Satan wins, he loses.” -Carmelite nun (because “see previous statement”) because in our failures and weaknesses we become humble, more compassionate and more dependent on God).

All things work out for good for those who love God.

Fear is motivated by “self,” Love is motivated by the desire to give pleasure to the “other.”
 
theresaavey said:
What if fear prevents doing things out of love?
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I believe Fear of the Lord refers to reverence more than fear-fear. That’s what I was told when I was confirmed, anyway.

Since God is love, reverence for him could only result in love.
 
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