Pope Francis on the Healthy Fear of God

Let us pray that the fear of God, together with the other gifts of the Holy Spirit, will renew us in faith and constantly remind us that in God alone do we find our ultimate happiness, freedom and fulfilment.

08/04/2026 Bruce Strom Morality, Vatican II 0
Pope Francis on the Healthy Fear of God

In its essay on Fear of God, Dr Wikipedia references Pope Francis’ rumination on this topic. We quoted him in our reflection on FDR’s First Inaugural Address and St John Climacus’ discussion of Fear and Cowardice in Rung 21 of his Ladder of Divine Ascent, but we feel Francis’ thoughts are worth reading in their entirety. This is from an article in EWTN News which mostly directly quotes Pope Francis, so this is that rare reflection where I add very little.

YouTube video for this blog: https://youtu.be/2p0GKgRjPkA

FDR’s First Inaugural Address and St John Climacus, Ladder of Divine Ascent, on Fear & Cowardice, Step 21
https://seekingvirtueandwisdom.com/fdrs-first-inaugural-address-and-st-john-climacus-ladder-of-divine-ascent-on-fear-cowardice-step-21/

EWTN tells us: “During a 2014 general audience, Pope Francis spoke on the Holy Spirit’s gift of Fear of the Lord, saying it does not mean we should be afraid of God, but rather serves as a reminder to do the right thing.”

Pope Francis teaches us:
“The fear of the Lord, the gift of the Holy Spirit, doesn’t mean being afraid of God, since we know that God is our Father who always loves and forgives us.” It “is no servile fear, but rather a joyful awareness of God’s grandeur and a grateful realization that only in him do our hearts find true peace.” “When the Holy Spirit lives in our heart, he instills consolation and peace in us.”

This peace, Pope Francis noted, is “the attitude of those who place all their trust in God and feel protected, like a child with his father,” explaining that through fear of the Lord “we become, as Jesus asks us, like little children, trusting in the goodness and the protection of our heavenly Father.”

The Pope also described how this gift “allows us to imitate the Lord in humility and obedience, not with a resigned and passive attitude, but with courage and joy.” “He turns us into Christians convinced that we are not subject to the Lord out of fear, but rather conquered by his paternal love.”

Referring to the fear of the Lord as an “alarm” that awakens us “to the presence of sin in our lives” and reminds us that one day we will “be held accountable to the just Judge,” the pontiff stated that when we start to sin, this spiritual gift can help direct the faithful back on the right path.” “When a person is not on the right path, he settles himself in evil.” “When he distances himself from God, when he takes advantage of everyone, when he lives attached to money, to vanity, to power or pride, then the holy fear of God draws his attention: You will not be happy like this, this way you will end badly.”

Pope Francis prayed that the fear of the Lord would allow all “to understand that one day everything will finish and we will have to be accountable to God.” “Let us pray that the fear of God, together with the other gifts of the Holy Spirit, will renew us in faith and constantly remind us that in God alone do we find our ultimate happiness, freedom and fulfilment.”

“Following his address, Pope Francis drew attention to the World Day against the exploitation of child labor.”[1] The significance of this gesture is that Loving and Fearing God should lead to more than thoughts and prayers, it should lead to active lobbying to make the world a more just and compassionate world.

[1] https://www.ewtnnews.com/vatican/pope-fear-of-the-lord-an-alarm-reminding-us-of-whats-right

About Bruce Strom 456 Articles
I was born and baptized and confirmed as a Lutheran. I made the mistake of reading works written by Luther, he has a bad habit of writing seemingly brilliant theology, but then every few pages he stops and calls the Pope often very vulgar names, what sort of Christian does that? Currently I am a seeker, studying church history and the writings of the Church Fathers. I am involved in the Catholic divorce ministries in our diocese, and have finished the diocese two-year Catholic Lay Ministry program. Also I took a year of Orthodox off-campus seminary courses. This blog explores the beauty of the Early Church and the writings and history of the Church through the centuries. I am a member of a faith community, for as St Augustine notes in his Confessions, you cannot truly be a Christian unless you worship God in the walls of the Church, unless persecution prevents this. This blog is non-polemical, so I really would rather not reveal my denomination here.

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