FEAST OF SAINTS JOSEPH OF LEONESSA AND JOHN DE BRITTO – 4th FEBRUARY
February 4, 2023
FEAST OF SAINT AGATHA OF SICILY, VIRGIN AND MARTYR – 5th FEBRUARY
February 5, 2023
4 February, 2023
Fear of others becomes a snare, but the one who trusts in the Lord is safe.
Proverbs 29:25
Eternal Father, Everlasting God, we exalt your Holy Name, for your very Being gives us assurances of safety and sanity in a world trapped in anxieties, worries and morbid fears, filled with human predators, waiting to ensnare the uninitiated into traps of ungodliness. Faith is lost in the throes of unmitigated fear, in which the circumstances we are in, play a large part. Many of us are indebted or dependant in some way or the other and lead lives according to the expectations of those we depend upon.
Many others are sycophants and people pleasers, jostling with one another to gain the favor of the leader of the pack. We become slaves of human beings in authority, knowingly or unknowingly. We spend our lives so suffocated in traps of our own devices, that the thought of our Creator becomes just a thought, and our faith in our Lord suffers. Lord, help us realize that firm faith in you and your unshakable promises dispels all dread of man, for it is you, Lord, who holds us in the palm of your hands, saves, redeems, sets us free.
Our faith in you, Lord, we increase, and we reverence your Holy Name, to squash the dread of humans and snuff out fear for them who are mere mortals and can crumble to dust before the invincible Might of our God. Following your Holy Word, reforms and transforms, uplifts and instructs, making us worthy to stand confidently before you, with irrefutable belief in your saving grace. While fear of man spawns death and disease, we choose to trust and honor you, Father, to receive release, deliverance, grace and eternal salvation, in Christ Jesus. Amen
