“Be not afraid. Open wide the doors to Christ.” These were the first words St. John Paul II spoke to the world at his installation Mass in October 1978. They inspire us, but they’re also hard to live. Dr. Sri explores what these words really mean, why trying harder not to be afraid rarely works, and how John Paul II’s own life of suffering reveals a deeper path.
Shownotes
“Be not afraid” is not a call to self-reliance: When isolated, the phrase can sound like a scolding: if you feel fear, you’re not a good enough Christian. But both Jesus and John Paul II speak these words within a larger context. The answer isn’t more willpower or a mental game of repeating the right thoughts.
The key is the reason that follows: Throughout the Old Testament, God tells his people to be not afraid because he is with them. As Isaiah 41:10 puts it: “Be not afraid, for I am with you.” John Paul II pairs the call with an invitation: open wide the doors to Christ.
Open the doors in the places of poverty: We’re invited to let Jesus into the lowest, most hurting places of our hearts. When we’re willing to go there, we discover a presence, a love, and a strength that has been with us all along.
Sit with the feeling before trying to fix it: Whether we feel alone, lost, stuck, or scared, the first step isn’t to bypass the feeling. It’s to notice it, sit with it, and recognize that God’s love is present even there. Planning, seeking counsel, and effort still matter, but they come after we’ve let God meet us.
Four Moments from St. John Paul II’s Life
1. Grief: Karol Wojtyła lost his mother at 8 and his older brother at 12. At 20, he came home to find his father had died. He wasn’t present for any of their deaths. He spent the night kneeling beside his father’s body, weeping and praying, and later said he had never felt more alone. Yet there he found an abiding presence that carried him forward.
2. Nazi occupation: As a young man, he worked in a rock quarry to avoid deportation, was struck by a Gestapo truck and left on the roadside, and studied in the clandestine underground seminary. When the Gestapo rounded up thousands of young men, he hid in terror behind a basement door, likely praying in cruciform position. An officer stood right outside but never opened the door.
3. The city without God: The communists built Nowa Huta outside Kraków as the first Polish city intentionally designed without a church. As a young auxiliary bishop, Wojtyła stood with the workers who wanted a cross and a church, reminding them they were not a people who belonged to no one, but children of God.
4. Suffering and old age: Battling Parkinson’s disease, he wrote his 1999 Letter to the Elderly, reflecting on how aging strips away pride and forces complete reliance on God. At Christmas 2004, struggling to breathe, he told Vatican officials that the passing years make one feel an ever greater need for God’s help, then handed his speech to an aide because he couldn’t finish it.
Reflection Questions
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What are you carrying right now? Where do you find yourself anxious or weighed down?
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Have you ever tried to simply “not be afraid” by willpower? How did that go?
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Is there a feeling of loneliness, confusion, or fear you’ve been trying to avoid rather than bringing to God?
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What would it look like to open the door of your heart to Christ in that place this week?
Scripture and Sources Mentioned
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Isaiah 41:10
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St. John Paul II, Homily at the Inauguration of his Pontificate (October 22, 1978)
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St. John Paul II, Letter to the Elderly (1999)
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St. John Paul II, Christmas Address to the Roman Curia (December 2004)
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