Fear Not 220

Beloved brethren, as the evening shadows lengthen across this sacred hour, let us gather our hearts around the triumphant words of our risen Savior from the Gospel of Saint Matthew, chapter twenty-eight, verse ten: "Do not be afraid." These words resound from the mouth of the Lord Himself, spoken to the holy women who had hastened to the empty tomb in the first light of Easter. In the historical moment of that resurrection dawn, Jerusalem trembled with confusion and the disciples hid in fear, yet the faithful women received the commission to proclaim life where death had seemed victorious. Saint John Chrysostom, preaching in the great church of Antioch, unfolds this scene with pastoral depth. He teaches that the angel's message and the Lord's own greeting transformed terror into mission. The women, once bowed in sorrow, became heralds sent to the very apostles who doubted. Through the lens of the Catena Aurea, we hear Saint Jerome affirm that these women were made apostles to the apostles, entrusted with the first proclamation of the resurrection. Fear, that inheritance from Eden, is here conquered by the new Adam who has passed through the grave. Saint Augustine, in his Easter sermons, reminds the faithful that this "do not be afraid" is no mere consolation but an invitation into divine joy. The resurrection does not erase the memory of the cross; it reveals its glory. As the early Church faced persecution under emperors who demanded worship of false gods, these words fortified martyrs and confessors alike. The same Lord who calmed the storm on the sea now calms the greater tempest within the soul. My children, consider how this verse pierces our own evenings of anxiety. When worldly powers threaten, when illness weighs heavy, or when doubt whispers in the night, the risen Christ repeats the same command. He who holds the keys of death and Hades speaks peace. Let us cast aside every fear that separates us from His love, for the tomb is empty and the victory is won. May this assurance carry us through the night into the light of a new day. #FearNot220 #FearNotUNPLUGGED #117of220 #Catholic

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