God tells Christians not to be afraid because he is always close, accompanying the faithful throughout their lives and through all their challenges, Pope Francis said. “God says ‘Do not be afraid’ to Abraham, Isaac and many others in the Bible, but he says it to us, too. ‘Be not afraid,’ keep going,” because God “is your traveling companion,” the Pope said on January 22 during his weekly general audience in the Paul VI Audience Hall. He looked at the effect of God’s transforming power on a young Mary in Nazareth. Mary learns of her mission to be “the mother of the long-awaited Davidic Messiah” whose name will be “’Jesus,’ which means ‘God saves,’ reminding everyone forever that it is not man who saves, but only God,” the Pope said. “Illuminated with trust,” he said, “Mary welcomes the Word in her own flesh and thus launches the greatest mission ever entrusted to a human creature,” placing herself in service, collaborating with God’s plan. “Let us learn from Mary, mother of the Saviour and our mother, to open our ears to the divine Word, to welcome it and cherish it, so that it may transform our hearts into tabernacles of his presence, into hospitable homes where hope grows,” the Pope said.
Be not afraid, because God is always near, Pope says
