15 May 1992
Cameroon

My dear Sisters,

It would be an interesting exercise to list the phrases which most frequently came to the lips of Our Lord. "Do not let your hearts be troubled," Jesus says in today's Gospel. He is trying to cast out fear from the hearts of the Apostles on the night before He is to suffer death. When the disciples, on the Lake of Galilee in the darkness of the night, saw Jesus walking on the waves, they were terrified. They cried out "for fear." Immediately Jesus said to them: "Take heart. It is I. Have no fear." (Mt 14:27). We know that several times during his life Jesus said to people: "Fear not." After His resurrection, when He met His disciples in the upper room, He first wished them peace and then told them not to fear. Jesus Christ is interested always in trying to lighten our fears. When He comes to us in Holy Communion, He assures us that He is giving us everlasting life. That is a great assurance because the greatest natural fear which we have is the fear of death. Jesus Christ in every Holy Communion is assuring us that, as He can take care of that greatest natural fear, namely, death, He will also take care of those many other smaller fears which are hidden in our hearts. Some of these fears are known to us, others are not. To us, however, as to the frightened disciples, Jesus Christ keeps saying: "Take heart. It is I. Have no fear." (Ibid.). "Do not let your hearts be troubled." (Jn 14:1).

A phrase like "Fear not" will often be on the lips of anyone who is a close follower of Jesus Christ. St. Vincent and St. Louise spent much of their lives casting out fear from the hearts of the poor. They spent much of their lives encouraging and consoling the poor, inviting them to come to Jesus Christ and place their confidence in Him. Our Lord is always whispering into our ears, "Fear not." He does not wish us to keep that message to ourselves. He wants us to pass on the word to others. He wants to use us so that we can help others to cast out some of the fears that may be in their hearts. He wants to use us to invite others to come to Him. By the kindness of our words and the thoughtfulness of our actions, each of us can do much to lessen the fears that are in the hearts of our friends. Each of us can do much to bring our friends closer to Jesus Christ.

There is one other phrase in today's Gospel which could be the summary of everything Jesus said and did. To St. Thomas Jesus said: "I am the Way and the Truth and the Life." (Jn 14:6).

Christ is the Way. If you wish to go somewhere, you ask the way. We are pilgrims on our way to heaven. Jesus Christ is our way. We are following the right way if Jesus Christ can at all times share our thoughts, our words, our actions. St. Vincent often proposed to people as a program for their lives the simple question: "What would Jesus Christ do, if He were in my place now?" "Christ", he said one day, "is the rule of the Mission," and the Constitutions of the Daughters of Charity take that sentiment and state: "Christ is the Rule of the Daughters of Charity." (C. 1.5).

Christ is the Truth. Many people have spoken the truth and taught the truth. Only Jesus Christ could say: "I am the Truth." Truth is reality. To desire truth is to desire direct contact with reality. When we touch Christ in prayer or in the Sacraments, we are touching the fullness of reality. We are touching the truth and our minds are seeking reality and truth.

Christ is the Life. St. Paul has a marvelous phrase in his letter to the Colossians. "Christ," he writes, "Who is your life...." (Col 3:4). It is Christ Who has given us in baptism a spark of His risen life. We cannot see it, but it is there, just as we cannot see the life that is in the darkness of the earth and which shows itself in the beauty of spring flowers and in budding leaves. "Christ, Who is your life...." (Ibid.).