Be Not Afraid

Progressing through the seven tenets of the Samurai Bushido (code of honor) brings the Prayer Warrior to the virtue of courage (勇 yuu).  Courage was a daily part of the early Christian Church.  The Apostles and other disciples of Jesus obviously had more than their fair share of challenges and dangers.  Sure, the Apostles had Jesus come back to them after the Resurrection and He bestowed the Holy Spirit upon them, but it still had to be hard for them to go off and fulfill their calling.  The early Christians had to face the likes of Saul (not yet Paul) who saw the Christians' beliefs as a perversion of the Jewish faith.  

Pope John Paul II was the modern day spokesman for courage when 30 years ago at his very first address to the faithful he said, 

"Be Not Afraid! Open up, no; swing wide the gates to Christ. Open up to his saving power the confines of the State, open up economic and political systems, the vast empires of culture, civilization and development…. Be not afraid!"

 Years later he addressed millions of youth at World Youth Day VII with this plea, 

"Dear young people, proclaiming the Word of God is not the responsibility of priests or religious alone, but it is yours too. You must have the courage to speak about Christ in your families and in places where you study, work or recreate... There are places and circumstances where you alone can bring the seed of God's Word."

Christ needs us as much as we need him.  We are Christians.  We are Christ-like.  We have to go out and proclaim the Word, live the Word and do all we can to turn this world back to God.  Too much of our world is a culture of death and empty promises.

Today, do something that promotes God.

Prayer for Courage in the Time of Battle

O Prince of peace, we humbly ask your protection

for all our men and women in military service.

Give them unflinching courage to defend 

with honor, dignity and devotion, 

the rights of all who are imperiled

by injustice and evil.

Be their rock, their shield, and their stronghold

and let them draw their strength from you.

For you are God, for ever and ever.