Recently, I have had the opportunity to shadow a few friends at work whose jobs involve climbing on roofs. When looking up at a roof from the ground, it really doesn’t seem that high. When getting on a ladder to climb down from a roof… different story. I never thought I would have any issue with dismounting a one-story roof, but my body has now taught me otherwise. Some things simply require a bodily experience to properly understand why we should have a healthy fear of it. God gave us a huge world to explore, and a sense of fear to keep us safe from danger. But even so, that fear should not keep us from legitimately pursuing our goals – the greatest of which is to love God above all else. But when we overcome our fears in pursuit of God, we come to a greater love of Him through the virtue of courage.
This roof is a little steep for me
God made us to love Him and live in communion with Him. Pope Benedict XVI affirms this idea in his encyclical Spe Salvi by writing, “Man was created for greatness—for God himself; he was created to be filled by God.” This echoes the sentiments written by Pope Saint John Paul II in his Theology of the Body when he expounds upon the yearning we all feel in our hearts for something greater – what Plato called, “eros.” God put on our hearts a desire for the transcendent, which we often seek in earthly beauty. This desire should ultimately lead us to God Himself, but oftentimes fear stands the way of pursuing good desires which lead us to God.
Fear affects us on more than just a mental level, as we can feel fear bodily, too. Maybe our legs shake, our palms become sweaty, or our breath quickens. Our bodies have a built-in self-preservation system, which activates when we feel danger. This helps us to avoid things like predators, but on the flip side, can often hinder us, too. Fear might keep us from speaking out against an injustice when we have something to lose, or it might keep us from trusting in God when we really want a certain outcome. God wants us to overcome this more selfish kind of fear, and choose to follow and listen to Him in these scenarios.
St. George didn’t let fear stop him, be like St. George
In order to grow in courage, we have to face our fears. Pope Benedict’s encyclical continues, “But [man’s] heart is too small for the greatness to which it is destined. It must be stretched.” While this particular excerpt refers to stretching ourselves through prayer, Pope Benedict pairs this later in the document with a call to strive for virtuous conduct in our actions that matches the hope we pray for. When faced with fear, we need to call upon Our Lord for courage. Doing so strengthens us to overcome fear and choose God. When we choose God over fear, it helps us to choose Him again in the future.
Despite our fears, we need to keep our eyes fixed on God Himself. Doing this and confronting our fears stretches us. Even the Apostles ask of Jesus, “Increase our faith.” We today can also offer this prayer, in the hope that God will give us what we need to overcome fear.
Chris Tarantino is the Communications Director for TOBET. He studied History at The University at Texas A&M and has written for the Tennessee Register and Nashville Catholic.
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