The Rustle of Fear
Photo by TL (UnSplash)
“To him who is in fear it seems as if everything around him rustles.” — Sophocles (497 BC)
What are we noticing now that was in plain sight all along? Do we sense the rustling of poverty, sickness, loneliness and death? Haven’t these been around us all our lives? We look at how the world around us is changing – and not for the better. It’s is all too easy to be afraid of what we didn’t notice on Ash Wednesday when we determined our disciplines for what became the Longest Lent.
The rustlings draw louder as fear threatens to consume us, We know we don’t have the confidence and wisdom to deal with its demands on our own. How do we sort out what we must accept, what action we are called to carry out, and what we must leave to providence? And I don’t mean denying and ignoring the needs we find all around us.
The fact we find hard to accept is that we can choose victory over fear in trusting Jesus by surrendering to his will and staying open each moment to his presence when victimhood is rustling around us.
Someone sent me a prayer, The Litany of April, by an unknown author that helped me through the initial stages of the quarantine. It is just as applicable for all of us during our transition to the “new normal” that is slowly evolving. May it help us become compassionate and heroic servants fearlessly focused on the needs of the present moment. I’ve renamed it for the pandemic.
The Litany of the Pandemic
From the belief that this is about me,
Deliver me.
From the seduction and spiral of fear,
Deliver me.
From the temptation to numb myself with distractions,
Deliver me.
From the dread that manifests as laziness,
Deliver me.
From the fear of what comes next,
Deliver me.
From the need to know when it’ll end,
Deliver me.
That I may revel in this chance to trust,
Jesus grant me the grace to desire it.
That I may care more about how this affects others more than how it affects myself,
Jesus grant me the grace to desire it.
That I may be given the chance to sacrifice for others,
Jesus grant me the grace to desire it.
That I may find solace in you and you alone,
Jesus grant me the grace to desire it.
That I may learn to be alone,
Jesus grant me the grace to desire it.
That I may know that I am never alone,
Jesus grant me the wisdom to understand it.
That I may remember that you make all things work for your Good,
Jesus grant me the wisdom to understand it.
Author unknown
