I give You all the praise, all the honor, and all the glory You righteously deserve. I pour our heart, my love, and all to You, for there is none like You in all the earth.

  I am sure you remember the 1980’s televangelist, Jim Baker, who was convicted of mail fraud as well as other crimes. While he was in prison, he was interviewed by a pastor.  During his interview, he explained to the pastor  that being in prison was not God’s judgement upon him but rather God’s Mercy.  The reason for this significant statement was because Mr. Baker clearly pointed out that he was living a life apart from God’s laws.  So being in prison was essentially God’s mercy bestowed upon him. For if this did not occur, he would end up in hell.  The pastor then asked him this question: “During all that time that you had committed adultery, stealing and fraud, when did you fall out of love with Jesus?”   Jim Baker looked at him and said, “I never did. While I was committing these crimes over seven years, I actually lost the fear of the Lord.  I felt I could do no wrong and there would be no consequences.”
Unfortunately, our society has fundamentally lost what it means to have fear of the Lord.  The Fear of the Lord is the beginning of the wisdom that reminds us who God truly is. Proverbs 9:10, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.”  When approaching Jesus in Holy Communion and you have never felt a sense of wonder and awe, who do you think you are receiving?   During Mass, we approach God but even more so God approaches us during Holy Communion.
When it comes to the Tabernacle: do you truly realize Who is in there? 
When it comes to the Name of Jesus: how do you use the Name of Jesus?  Do you always say it with the utmost reverence?
 Now let me clarify: there is a clear distinction between fear of the Lord and being afraid of God.  When a person is afraid of God, they want to hide themselves from Him.  When we are afraid of God, it makes us draw back into ourselves.  But having fear of the Lord, draws a person to God.  Fear of the Lord (wonder and awe) allows us to recognize that we have a Father that cares for us and wants the best for us. And we realize that at times we disappoint Him. We can never make God love us more or less.  But we can make God less pleased with us. When we have fear of the Lord, we don’t want to disappoint our Heavenly Father. 
In the Old Testament, the term “the fear of the Lord” is used to refer to genuine piety. The Hebrew term for fear is yirat. Yirat Hashem is the general term for the fear of the Lord. Yirat actually has a wide range of meanings. It can speak of an anticipation of danger or pain but it can also refer to awe and reverence. When one fears the Lord, they have an “overwhelming sense of the glory, worth, and beauty of the Lord”. The New Testament term for fear is phobos/phobeo. It also has a range of meanings including timidity, fearfulness, and the fear of Lord.
Pope Francis spoke of the fear of God as a gift that is given to Christians through the presence of the Holy Spirit.  “This is what the Holy Spirit does through the gift of fear of the Lord: he opens hearts. The heart opens so that forgiveness, mercy, goodness and the caress of the Father may come to us, for as children we are infinitely loved…It is a gift that makes of us Christians who are convinced, enthusiastic, who aren’t submissive to the Lord out of fear but because we are moved and conquered by his love! To be conquered by the love of God! This is a beautiful thing.”     “Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who greatly delights in his commandments” (Psalm 112:1)                    

 “You must fear God out of love. Not love God out of fear.” –St. Francis de Sales

--Sherrie Clutts DRE