Let us not fear those who kill the flesh.

On May 13, 1981, gunshots rang out in the square in front of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. The shots were aimed at the Holy Father! Shots were fired at John Paul II, driving through the square in an open car through the crowds of pilgrims; he was a blessing. Evil men wanted to kill the Pope, the successor of St. Peter. For long hours at the Gemelli Hospital, doctors struggled for the life of the wounded Pope. They saved him. After this act, many people thought that the Holy Father would be more vigilant and careful and would stop meeting crowds of the faithful. They said he would shut himself up in the Vatican and run the Church from there. Nothing of the sort has happened. The Pope has enhanced protection, a car with bulletproof glass, but the Holy Father has not left the meeting with the faithful. He continued to come among the faithful and speak to them about Jesus Christ. Indeed, his life was constantly in danger with all the security measures.
What did the Holy Father want to tell us? First, the proclamation of the truth about God is a more serious matter than his own life, and this is what the Gospel tells us: “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul” (Mt 10:28).

Where did the Holy Father draw this courage from? People who live near the Pope say that the Holy Father spent much time kneeling before the tabernacle. Then, he often encounters the Lord Jesus in prayer in the Eucharist and Our Lady in the Rosary.

Have you ever wondered what the first words of the Lord Jesus were to the people after His Resurrection?
“Peace be with you!” (Lk 24:36). Jesus said it twice, indeed emphasizing it as an achievement, the victory of his Resurrection, the triumph over fear, and the endowment of human hearts with peace. He overcame death in himself, but he died and rose again for us, as we confess in I Believe in God.

Kierkegaard, one of the foremost contemporary philosophers, said: “Man only truly ceases to be afraid when he has overcome his greatest fear, and that is the fear of death.” (Bib. Eccl. 5/87, p. 281).

This should not be very difficult for us Christians, for Christ said that as He rose from the dead, so shall we rise. Therefore, we take the words of the Gospel, “Fear not them which kill the body but are not able to kill the soul” (Mt. 10:28) as a strength. Death on earth is only one episode in life; therefore, the fear of it cannot influence our actions.
But let us notice the words more: “Rather, fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell” (Mt 10:28) – that is, fear God, the Lord of life here on earth, but also the eternal, just God who rewards the good and punishes the bad, as we confess in one of the central truths of our faith. Some people see such a God as more of a “scarecrow” to the man who harms him and wishes him dead, but the opposite is true.

God wants to endow man with freedom. Such a philosopher was, for example, the German philosopher Nietzsche, who promised man’s freedom by teaching the death of God. Many systems have already tried to realize this, but thanks to God, people have already had the opportunity to see what liberation it leads to. Just think of Nazism. Man, freed from God, fell into true freedom – bondage to various addictions and enslavement and stripped of all values to the limits of possibility. Fear and difficulties in everyday life often cripple man’s freedom and independence. Let us learn to overcome and conquer them.

St. Paul writes: It is not to fear but to freedom that God created us.
In this struggle for freedom and inner independence, God Himself is our help. How many times in the pages of the Gospels did He give us courage! “But you also have all the hairs of your head numbered. Do not be afraid, therefore, for you are more valuable than many sparrows” (Mt 10:30).

Difficulties. How many we have on our journey through life! They stand in our way daily, at school, at work, and in the family. But we need to realize again and again that God does not want us to be afraid. On the contrary, God wants us to be men of courage and persevere in life’s journey: the way, the truth, and the life. This is what He has appointed us to do and promised to help us: belief, I have overcome! We must be made stronger by the power that faith gives us. We must be strong in faith. We need this strength today, perhaps more than ever. We must be more robust in the hope that brings joy in life and does not give consent to grieve the Holy Spirit. We need to be stronger in the power of grace, which is more powerful than death.

I would now like to introduce you to a boy, Jack the seventh-grader. Jack is a tall, hard-working boy, but he is shy. Because of this timidity, he has had many problems. During a recess in the locker room, before gym class, a rosary fell out of Jack’s pocket. The boys, though not mean, began to make fun of Jack. They called him “parson.” It was to the credit of Jack’s timidity. They mocked him more and more. But it didn’t last long. They all quieted down at once when Jack, in a low but firm voice, said to them:
“Now, if you’d like to know, I carry not only a rosary but also a chain and a locket. Besides, I go to the May devotion every day, and I don’t miss a single rosary during the winter. In addition, I pray at home in the morning and in the evening, and I take my cap off before church. What else would you like to know?”
All the boys hung their heads. Jack prevailed. This incident aroused the attention of the whole school. From that time on, the boys respected Jack, even though he was small-tempered, and shy, but besides that, he didn’t tell his classmates that every time he went to school, he would stop for a moment at the church.

This is the story a priest friend told me.
In Jack the words spoken by the Lord Jesus in the Gospel are fulfilled, “Whosoever shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven” (Matt. 10:32). What the Lord Jesus says in the Gospel does not need much explanation. There is not and cannot be anything more serious in a person’s life than God! We can lose everything but God. Everything can be renounced, but not God. If Jesus is your greatest treasure, you will surely be a good person and a Christian.

Let us learn today the courage to confess Jesus, even in events and incidents like Jack had. For there will surely be times in the future when evil men will demand that you deny or renounce God. It would be a terrible thing if the words of the Lord Jesus in the Gospel applied to any of us: “But whoever denies me before men, him I will also deny before my Father who is in heaven” (Mt. 10:33).

The best school of courage is that we belong to Jesus. It is also the frequent encounter with Jesus in the Eucharist, Holy Mass, Holy Communion, adoration, prayer before the tabernacle… Have you noticed that this school was aptly recognized both by the aforementioned Jack and by the Holy Father John Paul II?
Let us try, and from today onwards, may the Lord Jesus in the Eucharist be not only a guest for us, but also a great friend.