Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus tells us: “Do not be afraid. You are worth more than many sparrows.”
In Jesus Christ, you are connected to the very power of God, to that which is here and now creating the universe. You stand above the vagaries of space and time. You are in the center of the wheel of fortune. No matter how much it turns, you stay the same. You are in the Interior Castle.
Now think of saints like John Paul II and José Sánchez del Río. The young Karol Wojtyła operated behind locked doors, preserving the great works of Polish literature during the Nazi occupation. That same man, now come of age and newly elected as pope, said to all the world, “Be not afraid!” This from someone who had experienced the worst barbarism of the twentieth century.
During the Cristero Rebellion in early twentieth-century Mexico, the young José Sánchez del Río stood for his faith despite enormous opposition, torture, threats, and finally the firing squad itself. He wasn’t afraid of those paper tigers who could only kill his body.
So, no matter how much violence is going on, we have a place of safety.