DO NOT BE AFRAID!!

An elderly woman had one dream in life; to visit Rome. After years of saving money, she finally boarded an airplane from New York, taking her to Rome. Seated behind her were four bishops. After a short time in the air, she looked out the window and saw one of the four engine fall off the wing and disappear into the clouds.

She began to scream: “We are going to die!” The pilot announced that everyone was safe. There were three good engines left and they would be able to return to New York without any problem.

The women continued to scream: “We are going to die!” The flight attendant tried to reassure her telling here that God was with us, we have four bishops and three engines. The lady replied: “I would rather have four engines and three bishops.”

This story reminds me of my first flight on a plane. I was 15 years old and travelling from Pittsburgh to New York to work as a counsellor at a summer camp for kids. Believe it or not, it was before the start of commercial jets, so I was on a four propeller plane. A TWA twin constellation. My seat was over one of the wings and as I was looking out the window, I saw that there was smoke coming out of one of the engines. Finally, the propeller stopped. The pilot informed us that he turned off another engine to keep the plane balanced. He assured us that the other two engines were capable of getting us to New York. I was fine until we encountered some bad weather. We could not fly above the storm. We had to fly through it. The ride became very bumpy and I began to worry. I made a good act of contrition and began to pray the rosary. As we were landing at La Guardia airport, all I could see was water and I thought that we were going to land in the water. However, we landed safely. My legs were shaking when we left the plane. The friends who met me in the airport took one look at me and asked me what was wrong because I was as pale as a ghost.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus told his disciples not to be afraid. “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul…” But, I was surely afraid during my first plane ride. And, all of us experience fear at times. How do we deal with it?

In the musical “King and I” Anna sings: “Whenever I feel afraid, I hold my hear erect and whistle a happy tune, so no one will suspect I’m afraid.” That may be one way of dealing with fear. But for me, it was my trust in God and turning to Him in prayer. Again, in the Gospel we have the assurance of Jesus’ words: “So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.”

elying upon God’s in moments of fear can give us the courage to face our fears and overcome them. For God loves us as a Father.