Homily: Monday - 7th Week in OT 2017 - Fear of the Lord

One of the most repeated and emphasized statements in the Bible is: "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.

Deuteronomy tells us “fear of the Lord is good always and good for our survival.”

Psalm 112 says “Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who greatly delights in His commands”
Proverbs says “Fear of the Lord prolongs life” and that the “reward for humility and fear of the Lord are riches, honor and life”

The book of Sirach (from which we'll be reading until the beginning of Lent) repeats over and over the importance of holy fear, “Fear of the Lord is glory and splendor, gladness and a festive crown. Fear of the Lord warms the heart, giving gladness and joy and length of days."

Here at St. Clare, the first seven stained glass windows on the west side of the church depict the seven gifts of the spirit. Fear of the Lord is depicted as the eye of God watching over the world. What is fear of the Lord? It is the constant consciousness that the eye of God is watching us always. “l'occhio di Dio che sempre ti vede” as Padre Pio said. The eye of God that follows you always.

Coming from the eye of God in our stained glass window are lightning bolts of divine judgment, symbolizing God’s judgment. Christians are to live mindfully that the eye of God watches us always and that we will have to face judgment for our choices in life.

Speaking on this most important gift of the Spirit, Pope Francis said “The gift of fear fills us with awe and reverence for God. It makes us dread the thought of displeasing God because of our love for Him. A right-ordered and healthy fear of God is the beginning of wisdom.”

Why is the fear of the Lord the beginning of Wisdom? Because if we are to live a rightly ordered life, we must first be conscious that our actions, decisions, and attitudes must be rightly directed to God, and that we will be held accountable for those actions. Without fear of the Lord we cannot remain on the right path of wisdom, we cannot even find it.

The Spiritual masters give us three practices for increasing our fear of the Lord. First, meditating frequently on God’s infinite grandeur and sovereignty. On a beautiful day like today, we do well to behold the beauty and splendor of God’s creation, and being amazed at God’s handiwork.
Secondly we are encouraged to make a frequent examination of our lives in light of the truth of the Gospel. Frequent confession of sin helps us to remain accountable and mindful of our impending judgment.

And lastly, to spend time in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament; spending time face to face with Jesus in the Eucharist, prepares us to meet the Lord face to face at the end of our earthly life.
By the great gift of fear, we seek to live lives pleasing to the Lord, seeking never to offend our gracious God, to become worthy of eternal life with Him for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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We pray that the gift of Holy Fear may deepen in the souls of our Church leaders and in the hearts of all Christians.

That our government leaders, and particularly our president, on this president’s day, may be filled with holy fear in seeking to guide our nation according to the commands of God.

For all those who have fallen away from the Church, who have fallen into mortal sin, for their return to the sacraments.

That through the gifts of the Holy Spirit we may respond to the Spirit’s promptings in caring for those most in need.

For the sick…
For the souls in purgatory…