+JMJ
"Fear of the Lord, instead, is the gift of the Holy Spirit through whom we are reminded of how small we are before God and of his love and that our good lies in humble, respectful and trusting self-abandonment into his hands. . .When we are pervaded by fear of the Lord, then we are led to follow the Lord with humility, docility and obedience. This, however, is not an attitude of resignation, passivity or regret, but one of the wonder and joy of being a child who knows he is served and loved by the Father. Fear of the Lord, therefore, does not make of us Christians who are shy and submissive, but stirs in us courage and strength!"
(Pope Francis, General Audience, June 11, 2014)
The month of November is dedicated to the Holy Souls in Purgatory. In his excellent book, The Spirit of the Liturgy, Pope Benedict XVI enlightens the reader to the intentional interconnection of the sacred liturgy and liturgical calendar with the rhythm of time itself. Just as Easter, the celebration of Christ's resurrection, purposely coincides with Spring, and Christmas, the Birth of the Light of the World, comes mere days after the Winter Solstice—the time when light gradually returns to the day—so too the month dedicated to the dead appropriately occurs when all of nature appears to be dying. The brightness of the leaves is faded; their crackling under tread indicates that they are not newly fallen but long since dead.
While the world does all in its power to distract man from his finiteness, creation will not be deterred from inviting man to meditate on his inevitable mortality. In keeping with this knowledge, the Holy Spirit mercifully grants man the gift of the Fear of the Lord, which means to "entertain a profound though filial fear of God, to meditate on the great disaster of losing His love, and of being separated from Him for all eternity."1
When one cultivates this gift, he embraces the words of Our Lord to fear nothing which can harm the body but only that which can harm the soul. One shouldn't be surprised by suffering for it serves as a reminder that he is not meant for this world. It serves to increase one's longing for heavenly rest, and helps the bearer to remember that the cross is not to be looked upon with angst and resentment, but with acceptance and gratitude. The certainty of death and judgment sobers the faithful Christian, and prompts him to recollect that he must one day stand side by side with the martyrs, and then what will he have to show?
"Nothing but crosses will assure us at the Day of Judgment. When that day shall come, we shall be happy in our misfortunes, proud of our humiliations, and rich in our sacrifices." (St. John Vianney)
