"The fear of the Lord
is the beginning of wisdom"
(Prov. 1:7).

First of all there is the fear of God's punishment which is not primarily motivated by love. It is a fear similar of that of a servant for his master.

But there is another fear motivated by the awe of God's majesty, his awful greatness, His ineffable holiness, His perfect righteousness and irresistible power. This is the fear which promotes great reverence for God and anything that is close to God such as his word, ministers and holy objects. It is a fear of offending God because he is a loving Father deserving all our love. This fear is the gift of the Spirit.

In the passion account of St. Matthew we read the following: "The centurion and the men with him who were keeping watch over Jesus feared greathly when they saw the earthquake and all that was happening , and they said, 'Truly, this was the Son of God!'" (Mt 27:54) As we can see, this kind of fear prompted a response of faith which certainly involved the prompting of the Holy Spirit.

In the life of St. Marcellus, we also can see that fear of the Lord played its part.

Marcellus was a pagan of the Roman army's Trajan Legion. After hearing the preaching of Bishop Decentius of Leon, he and his family were converted to Christianity. In 298 AD, the celebration of the birthday of Emperor Maximian involved offering sacrifices to the gods. Marcellus refused casting aside his military belt, weapons and vine branch which symolized his office while declaring, "I serve Jesus Christ the eternal King". He was arrested and as he stood before a court in Tangiers, Morocco he was asked, "What madness possessed you to throw away the badge of your allegiance and to speak as you did?" Marcellus answered, "There is no madness in those who fear God." He was sented to death by beheading. (Magnificat, October 2003, p. 397)

On the faithful, who adore;
And confess You, evermore;
In Your many gifts descend.

Give us virtue's sure reward;
Give us Your salvation, Lord;
Give us joys that never end.
Amen. Alleluia!