Monday, March 23, 2009

Be Not Afraid

I attended mass at St. Patrick's (in New York City) this weekend. For those of you that have never been there, it is beautiful. It is large, ornate, and in my opinion, is one of the few churches here in the U.S. that can stand up to its European brethren.

Because of its sheer size, music tends to echo and bounce around its cavernous interior - which makes every song seem even more beautiful. But when they sing "Be Not Afraid", like they did this weekend during Communion, it is simply ethereal.

Aside from being one of the most moving songs in our faith (my humble opinion of course), that hymn struck me as very relevant as we get closer to the Easter Triduum.

"Be not afraid ... I go before you always"

I've always interpreted this line as God leading the way for us in our everyday life. But viewed through the lens of Lent, it takes on even more meaning.

Jesus went before us - through a horrific death - so that we would be saved. Our death could have been much worse. But He went out ahead. He took the pain. He paved the way for us so that we could have Eternal Life with Him. And He continues to lead the way for us ... as long as we let Him.

It is so moving to play back that line in my head while thinking of what Jesus did for us.

"Come follow me ..."

I will Jesus. Just hold my hand!

God Bless.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

'Be Not Afraid' is one of my favorite faith songs. It's so beautiful! Another favorite song of mine is 'On Eagles Wings'. The two of them always brings tears to my eyes. I have always wanted to visit Saint Patrick's. I can just imagine how lovely it would be to hear mass there. Thank you for this wonderful and inspiring post.

Happy Catholic said...

Michael, this is just beautiful. Thank you so much for sharing.Your spiritual reflections are really inspiring!