The most dominant emotion in our modern society is fear. 

We are afraid of rejection and failure, afraid of losing the things we have worked hard to buy, afraid of criticism, afraid of certain parts of town, afraid of certain types of people, afraid of suffering and heartache, afraid of change, afraid to tell people how we really feel… 

Fear has a tendency to imprison us. Fear paralyzes the human spirit. What do you fear? 

“Do not be afraid.” Jesus used this phrase more than any other phrase, and it is the most common saying in the entire Bible. Between the New and the Old Testament, the phrase appears more than one thousand times. 

What does it look like to live out this phrase? For that, we can turn to just about any saint, but Blessed Ignatius de Azevedo is a particularly powerful example.

Azevedo was born in Portugal in 1526. As an adult, he quickly became a leader in the Jesuit Order, and was appointed to supervise the Jesuit mission to the Portuguese colonies in Brazil. Despite the dangers there, he immediately set sail and stayed there for two years. Then he returned to Portugal to get more men.

In 1570, with 39 Jesuits under his guidance, Azevedo boarded a ship once more set for Brazil. However, they had not gone far when they were intercepted by French protestant pirates. They tried to get Azevedo and all his men to renounce their faith. But these Jesuits did not let fear faze them. They refused. And as a result, Azevedo and all the Jesuits with him were put to death.

Few of us will face the same threats Blessed Ignatius de Azevedo did, but every day we all have to face our fears in one form or another.

What’s the opposite of fear? The opposite of fear is confidence. In this context the source of that confidence would be trust. Trust in God. 

The antidote for fear is trust. On our money it says, “In God We Trust.” But do we? And if we don’t trust God, in whom are we placing our trust? This is a very important question, because let me tell you, if we don’t trust God, we have very good reason to be anxious, afraid, stressed, and all out petrified. 

Ask God to increase your trust and confidence in Him. Look back on your life and identify times when God was at work in your life. And trust that he is working in your life right now.

Feast Day: July 16—Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel (2024)

Feast Day Shared By: Saint Mary Magdalen Postel

Also Known As: One of the Forty Martyrs of Brazil

Beatified: May 11, 1854

Beatified By: Pope Pius IX