“Don’t be afraid of those who kill the body but can’t kill the soul” (Mt 10:28). And what perishes? What do they kill? Does what they are permitted to kill perish? No, it doesn’t perish. Listen to the Lord’s promise: “Amen I say to you, not a hair of your head will perish” (Lk 21:18). Why do you care about your other members, then, when there will be no loss of hair. (EnPs 141[142], 13; PL 37, 1840-1841)

Rev. Joseph A. Komonchak, professor emeritus of the School of Theology and Religious Studies at the Catholic University of America, is a retired priest of the Archdiocese of New York.

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