One way to pray in a fear-filled world is to choose love over anxiety, to open the door of the heart to dwell in the intimate presence of the One who loves us. When we begin to understand at a deep, spiritual level that we live surrounded by love and in communion with God no matter what the external circumstances, we can let go of the fear that lurks on the outskirts of our minds. Hardly a day passes in our lives without an experience of inner or outer fears, anxieties, apprehensions, and preoccupations. We do not have to live in fear. Love is stronger than fear: 'There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear.' (1 Jn 4:18)
--Henri Nouwen, Spiritual Formation
Image source: Hank Willis Thomas,The Embrace (2023), in memory of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., https://www.wgbh.org/news/embrace
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