Fear of God

The seventh of the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit is “Fear of God,” or “Holy Fear,” as I’ve termed it.

According to Catholic Answers::

Fear of God is, in this context, “filial” or chaste fear whereby we revere God and avoid separating ourselves from him—as opposed to “servile” fear, whereby we fear punishment.

Fear of God/Holy Fear is closely related to the sixth gift, Piety

We revere God and avoid separating ourselves from Him because we love Him. Our love of God forms a filial relationship wherein we do not sin (at least, nothing serious;ly venial or mortal) because we’d rather not rupture our relationship with Him. It’s like a marital relationship: a husband or wife refuses to become unfaithful not out of fear of what the other spouse would do, but rather they value the relationship and want to nurture and maintain it. 

When we nurture this “Holy Fear,” we grow in love and humility and remain steadfast in our sobriety. It is only reasonable: in sobriety we find the clear path to God, with all the cruft and glop of sin and addiction swept away.

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