The Catholic Standard and Times

DISPATCHES FROM ROME

‘Don’t Be Afraid
of Jesus’

By Father Joe Roesch, MIC

Last Sunday, I took a bike ride with a priest from Slovakia named Father Emil, who is also a member of my religious community, the Marians of the Immaculate Conception, living here in Rome.

He is studying for an advanced degree in Mariology and I am currently studying Italian.

He asked whether I would be willing to go with him for a ride on Sunday after Mass in the morning, and then we would return in the evening. Because of the language barrier between us (his English is poor and my Italian is poorer) I agreed to go, not comprehending completely how far we would be going.

We visited a beautiful lake outside of Rome called Lake Martignano. The total round-trip was about 64 miles, which meant that I spent around six hours on the bicycle. That made sitting down the next day a challenge.

In all, it was a fun day, but it had its adventures — including riding through Roman traffic on a bike, skidding on a steep dirt road and skinning my knee (my Italian cycling “baptism”), and legs that felt like jelly when I got home.

Completing the journey was tough for me because I was tired of pedaling and I just wanted it to be over. We stopped twice on the way home for Midday Prayer and Evening Prayer. I prayed the rosary along the way, and I kept asking Jesus to help me and to accompany me.

It became a powerful experience for me, because I realized that I was not alone on that bicycle. Jesus promised in the Scriptures that He would be with us always until the end of time, and He is true to His word.

Jesus is always nearby, and He waits for us to call to Him, to invite Him into our lives, to trust in Him, to be with Him.

We often fall into the temptation of trying to do everything ourselves. That is what our culture teaches us. We want to be in control, to be dependent on no one. Yet we are all dependent children of God.

My trying to learn Italian has been a humbling experience for me here in Rome. I am like a little, inarticulate child, unable to express myself to the people around me. I realize that I am not in control. But when I say Mass in Italian and try to address some words in Italian to the people, I realize that God can even use my feeble efforts to touch hearts.

I have found out that Father Emil likes to take the bike trips every weekend, and he is already planning our next one. Apparently, he had already asked the other members of the house and everyone else turned him down, since they knew how much he enjoys strenuous outdoor activities on his day off.

I prayed about whether to join him again, and I believe I will. The trips are challenging in many ways, but ultimately very satisfying.

I’m reminded of something Pope Benedict XVI said in his inaugural homily as Pope on the first Sunday after he was elected in April. He was reflecting on Pope John Paul II’s inaugural words back in 1978: Pope John Paul had said to the world, “Do not be afraid. Open wide the doors for Christ.”

In the Book of Revelation we read, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door [then] I will enter his house and dine with him and he with me” (Rev. 3:20).

Why wouldn’t we want to open the doors of our heart to Jesus Christ?

Pope Benedict reflected on this question: “Are we not perhaps all afraid in some way? If we let Christ enter fully into our lives, if we open ourselves totally to Him, are we not afraid that He might take something away from us?

“Are we not perhaps afraid to give up something significant, something unique, something that makes life so beautiful? Do we not then risk ending up diminished and deprived of our freedom?”

Ah, this is a crucial question the Pope is asking.

The other members of my house in Rome responded with a ‘no’ to Father Emil’s question to join him in the long and challenging bike ride because of what they might lose (time, comfort, rest) or because of challenges on the way.

Isn’t that the same way with our relationship with Jesus sometimes? We do open our hearts to Him, but we are afraid to throw open the doors completely. The Pope challenges us to, “open wide the doors to Christ.”

Pope Benedict goes on to explain, “If we let Christ into our lives, we lose nothing, nothing, absolutely nothing of what makes life free, beautiful and great. No — only in this friendship are the doors of life opened wide.

“Only in this friendship is the great potential of human existence truly revealed.” Pope Benedict says. “Only in this friendship do we experience beauty and liberation. And so, today, with great strength and great conviction, on the basis of long personal experience of life, I say to you, dear young people: Do not be afraid of Christ. He takes nothing away, and he gives you everything. When we give ourselves to Him, we receive a hundredfold in return. Yes, open, open wide the doors to Christ — and you will find true life.”

This is the secret to true happiness.

Yes, life is challenging, and yes, Christ will ask a great deal of us. But only if we say ‘yes’ to Him will we find true happiness.

I looked around at many of the young people and families who were enjoying their Sunday at the lake that day. (By the way, the modesty standards at the beaches and lakes here are much worse than in the States, and so prayers are needed for the conversion of hearts).

I was reminded of something I heard from one of our priests stationed at Fawley Court in England. One Sunday after Mass, he walked around town and saw people everywhere, shopping, having fun at a rugby stadium, looking at the boats near the river, having a Sunday brunch in town. Then he poked his head into the churches where Masses and services were being held, and they were almost completely empty.

What were the people afraid of? That church would be boring, that it would limit their freedom? That it would only make their lives more burdensome?

As I looked around at the many people at the lake, I wondered how many had gone to church that morning as Father Emil and I had. I don’t know the percentages, but statistics show that the number is not high, unfortunately.

They are searching for fullfillment and happiness, as we all are. Yet, as I left the lake to head home that day, I tried to express to Father Emil in my broken Italian: “They are like sheep without a shepherd.”

They need to learn that the Good Shepherd wants desperately to enter into a relationship with them, and then they will find the fullness of life. Then they will find the happiness and the fullfillment they are searching for.

There is nothing to be afraid of. Begin today to invite Jesus into your life, and don’t be afraid of including Him in your plans.

Arrivederci.

Father Joe Roesch, who used to write The CS&T’s popular column “Ask Father Joe,” is now Second General Councilor of the Rome Congregation of the Marians of the Immaculate Conception, which promotes the message of Divine Mercy around the world. He has agreed to write a column for us about what it’s like to be in Rome during the opening days of the pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI, and about his own Divine Mercy apostolate.