Tradition said she couldn't do it. Her neighbors, her friends, her family members all said, "You're going to fail." Common sense said, "You try this, it's poor judgment." She was just 34 years old and she wanted to be the first woman ever to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. So she set out. And as the flight wore on into night, the wings began to ice up, sending her plane into a bit of a spin. So she pulled it down so close to the water that she could see the waves break just to get that ice to thaw. Imagine the fear of flying like a seesaw: climbing high enough to use her instruments, then descending toward the sea to lessen the ice on the windshield. As dawn broke, she flipped the switch for the reserve fuel tank only to discover that no fuel remained. Imagine the fear. Then she spotted a ship, a fishing fleet, and decided to land as soon as she could. A green field presented the best spot, so she brought that Vega down smoothly and climbed out. She looked at a man and she said, "Where am I?" An astonished Dan McCallion who was out herding his cows said, "In Gallagher's pasture," he replied. "Have you come far?" She said, "I came from America." And he said, "Oh my goodness." And with that, Amelia Earhart became the first.

When the press got around her, they said, "Were you afraid?" She said, "Yeah." They said, "Why'd you do it?" She said, "I wanted to see if I could. That's all. The desire was nothing new to me. I'd flown Atlantics before. Everybody has his own Atlantics to fly. Whatever you want to do against the opposition of fear, tradition, neighborhood opinions, so-called common sense, that's an Atlantic." So do you mind if I ask you? What's your Atlantic? What are you afraid of? I mean, let's be honest, the dominant emotion in our society today is fear. We're afraid of rejection and failure, afraid of certain parts of town, afraid of certain types of people, afraid of criticism, afraid of suffering, afraid of change, afraid to tell people how we really feel, afraid of losing the things that we've worked so hard to buy, afraid of what society will think. We're afraid of so many things we're often even afraid of the best version of ourselves. Maybe you're afraid of the past, no matter how hard you try, you just keep reliving it. Or perhaps you fear change. We all have that. After all, the devil you know is better than the devil you don't know, isn't it? Change is scary and we'd rather not risk anything, prefer just to leave things as they are.

Then there is our old favorite fear of failure. Prevents us from doing anything at all. Maybe you remember that old proverb about "a ship is perfectly safe and secure as long as it sits in the harbor." But that's not what ships are made for, is it? But the Gospel is an invitation to explore all of life. An invitation to get beyond the comfortable center and explore the margins. The parts of life we avoid or ignore are the very parts of life Jesus is probably the most interested in. The type of people we avoid and ignore were the types of people Jesus was most interested in. What does that say about our lives? How does that invite us to change? What prevents us from changing? And what are we afraid of? And have we ever even considered the other side of the question? Rather than always framing it negatively, what are the possibilities that might come about if we open ourselves to more fully embrace the gospel? What holy moments might you experience if you really were truly open? What phrase did Jesus repeat more often than any other throughout the gospels? Be not afraid. In fact, it's in today's Gospel reading three times. Be not afraid. Why? Because Jesus knew more than anybody else that the measure of your life will be the measure of your courage.

Following Jesus requires incredible courage, it will take incredible courage to be counter-cultural. Incredible courage to pursue the dreams God gives you and shares for your life. And it will take incredible courage for you to strive every day to become a better version of yourself and to help the people you love do the same. A deep, genuine relationship with God banishes our fears and fills us with the courage to live a great life. Something wonderful is about to happen in your life. I just know that it's true. Faith overcomes fear. We worry about the future. God says, "I hold the future." We worry about failure. God says, "Walk in my ways and I will bless you." So again, what's your Atlantic? What are you afraid of? What's preventing you from being who God intends you to be? Because deep down, you know that God's power is greater than your fear. Here are the simple words of a prayer that we like to use at Dynamic Catholic, "I am the son or daughter of a great king. He is my father and my God. The world may praise me or criticize me, it matters not. He is with me, always at my side guiding and protecting me. I do not fear because I am His.