Feast of Our Lady, Help of Christians

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that frightens us most. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and famous?' Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world.

There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that people won't feel insecure around you. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in all of us. And when we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

~Marianne Williamson

Good morning. I wanted to share this quote by Marianne Williamson this morning after reading the Gospel from the Book of John this morning. Once again Jesus says to us ‘Do not be afraid!’ It is rather easy to wrap our arms around the idea of being afraid of failure, but the idea of being afraid of success, of getting it right is a concept many of us don’t tend to consider. Yet, that is precisely what we so often do in response to our marriages.

We are so often afraid of getting it right because then we become responsible and accountable for the use of our talents. If we acknowledge who we truly are and accept who God designed us to be then we are expected to put to use those gifts that God has given us. We see this so often in marriage the reluctance to fully give of ourselves. So often we want only to use our gifts for our own wants, our own needs. But God doesn’t give us these gifts with the expectation that we keep them to ourselves. He wants us to share ourselves fully. As with all things, He gives these gifts to us freely—we can use them as we choose. It is scary to fully give of ourselves. Within marriage there is always this tug and pull with intimacy, the full sharing of who we are. In the face of possible rejection it is natural to feel tempted to be a coward and run away. In the document from Vatican II, Gaudium et Spes, we are told that "man can fully discover his true self only in a sincere giving of himself" We were made for giving to each other in marriage. We were made to “let our light shine.” So liberate someone you love today, give of yourself fully. Make a great day!

Today we celebrate the Feast of Our Lady, Help of Christians. May our Blessed Mother, who stood at the foot of the cross, serve as a model for all married couples for overcoming their fears.