Using the COVID-19 pandemic as a backdrop, the Rev. Stephen Parkes of Annunciation Catholic Church in Altamonte Springs devoted a recent homily to the changes that we all face in life and our fear of change. 

Thinking about our fears is like opening a Pandora’s box, Parkes wrote. 

“There are so many things of which we can be afraid,” Parkes wrote in a reflection in the June 21 bulletin. "Being rebuked, rejection, anger, being challenged, having to defend ourselves, standing alone, insecurity, failure and even death."

The Very Rev. Stephen Parkes | https://annunciationorlando.org/

We all long to break the cycle of fear, Parkes wrote. Yet, old and dysfunctional behavioral habits and norms keep us stuck. 

At the bottom of so many fears is fear of change, he suggested.

“Human beings have to learn that there is life beyond the ‘what has always been,’” Parkes wrote. “Happiness and depth are possible when old structures and systems are left behind.”

Sometimes we decide to leave the familiar and the comfortable behind, he added. Sometimes the world forces change upon us. Cowardice can creep in. 

The thought of change can be frightening, Parkes wrote. A slew of feelings can upset our comfortable world.

“Feelings of apprehension, intense anger, resentment, defensiveness, reluctance, resistance, and even apathy,” Parkes wrote.

He said that the answer is not to be stuck in smallness and being safe. The answer, Parkes wrote, is to trust in God. 

“Only one thing is required, and that is God," he wrote. "If I can rely on and deepen my relationship with God, especially in the Eucharist, alongside a community of believers, then little else is of great concern. The Gospel calls us to stretch ourselves and try new things, not to remain stuck and stagnant in familiar ways. We are asked to live life more deliberately, radically and intentionally.”

Parkes asked the congregation to trust the Holy Spirit to lead and guide them. 

“If we trust this, we will find ourselves doing things we never thought we could do," he wrote. "Always seek the path to joy and love. They keep us from falling victim to our fears and from seeking the nostalgic crutches we think we need to achieve a sense of well-being and happiness.”