Ep. 193 - He Who Can Destroy: Fear, Hell, and the Order of Love
Mass Readings for June 21, 2026
Fear takes center stage in this week’s gospel as Jesus addresses his disciples—warning them of dangers yet insisting three times they “fear not,” then unexpectedly commanding them to “be afraid” of something much greater. We’ll unpack what fear really is, drawing on Aquinas and Augustine to explain how the passions or emotions shape our spiritual life. We’ll follow this thread through the human challenge of ordering our loves, from the first sin in the Garden of Eden to Abraham’s “binding of Isaac”, all the way to Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. Tune in as we wrestle with the primordial struggle to put God first—no matter what or whom we face.
Diving deep into our Gospel we'll spend our episode looking closer at:
How Jesus’ preaching is set within a broader sermon called the Missionary Discourse and follows upon the commissioning of the Twelve as Apostles [01:16]
The intriguing moment Jesus commands “fear not” three times, but then instructs his listeners to fear something specifically once—a rare contradiction worth unpacking [03:04]
Aquinas’ compelling explanation that all human passions, including fear, flow from love and how reason determines whether our fears are rightly ordered [14:02]
Augustine’s concept of the “order of love” and its ordinary, practical challenges, from choosing healthy food over donuts to prioritizing daily prayer over extra sleep [28:21]
The dramatic biblical examples of love’s proper order illustrated by Abraham’s near-sacrifice of Isaac and Jesus' agony in Gethsemane where sweating blood is a real medical condition called hematidrosis [39:05]
The stern, paradoxical warning from Jesus that public acknowledgment of him on earth directly impacts our association with him in heaven, a profound affirmation of human freedom [46:29]
References
Passions (i.e., emotions) arise in response to a perceived good or evil, cf., “In the movements of the appetitive faculty, good has, as it were, a force of attraction, while evil has a force of repulsion.” (STh., I-II q.23 a.4 resp.)
The object of fear is a future evil, cf., “In respect of evil not yet present we have fear.” (STh., I-II q.23 a.4 resp.); “The object of fear is a future evil, difficult and irresistible.” (STh., I-II q.41 a.2 resp.)
Considered in themselves the passions are neither morally good nor evil, cf., “If then the passions be considered in themselves, to wit, as movements of the irrational appetite, thus there is no moral good or evil in them, since this depends on the reason.” (STh., I-II q.24 a.1 resp.)
“The object of hope is a future good.” (STh., I-II q.41 a.2 resp.)
The object of sadness is a present evil, cf., “When the good is obtained, it causes the appetite to rest, as it were, in the good obtained: and this belongs to the passion of delight or joy: the contrary of which, in respect of evil, is sorrow or sadness*.”* (STh., I-II q.23 a.4 resp.)
“All the passions of the soul arise from one source, viz., love.” (STh., I-II q.41 a.2 ad 1)
“There is no other passion of the soul that does not presuppose love of some kind.” (STh., I-II q.27 a.4 resp.)
"Now he is a man of just and holy life who forms an unprejudiced estimate of things, and keeps his affections also under strict control, so that he neither loves what he ought not to love, nor fails to love what he ought to love, nor loves that more which ought to be loved less, nor loves that equally which ought to be loved either less or more." (Augustine, On Christian Doctrine I.27)
Genesis 3:4-5 - “You will not die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God.”
Genesis 2:16-17 - “And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, ‘You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die.’”
Desire flows from love, cf., “Movement towards good is desire” and “Love precedes desire.” (STh., I-II q.25 a.2 resp.)
“Perdition is not imposed by him [God], but comes to be wherever a person distances themselves from Christ.” (Ratzinger 205)
Luke 22:42 - “Father, if you are willing, remove this chalice from me; nevertheless not my will, but yours, be done.”
John 8:44 - “He [the devil] was a murderer from the beginning.”
Bibliography
Aquinas, Thomas. Summa Theologica. Translated by Fathers of the English Dominican Province. London: Burns Oates & Washbourne, n.d.
Augustine of Hippo. “On Christian Doctrine.” St. Augustin’s City of God and Christian Doctrine. Edited by Philip Schaff, Translated by J. F. Shaw. A Select Library of the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church, First Series. Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Company, 1887.
Davies, W. D., and Dale C. Allison Jr. A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Gospel according to Saint Matthew. International Critical Commentary. London; New York: T&T Clark International, 2004.
Keener, Craig S. The Gospel of Matthew: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2009.
Mitch, Curtis, and Edward Sri. The Gospel of Matthew. Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2010.
Ratzinger, Joseph. Eschatology: Death and Eternal Life. Washington, D.C.: Catholic University Of America Press, 1988.
Discussion Questions
Why do you think Jesus tells us so often not to be afraid but then commands us to fear in a specific instance?
One concept discussed was Aquinas’ definition of fear as a passion or emotion that responds to a perceived future evil. How does understanding fear in this way change your perspective on your own fears?
The episode explored the idea that emotions themselves are morally neutral until acted upon. Do you agree with this view? Can you think of examples from your own life where an emotion was neither good nor bad until you decided how to act?
Several points were raised, including Augustine’s concept of the “order of love,” meaning we must love things in the right measure and priority. What challenges do you face in trying to order your loves appropriately?
A key theme that emerged was the distinction between fearing physical death and fearing spiritual loss (separation from God). How does this distinction affect the way you make decisions in your daily life?
The episode examined the story of the Fall of Adam and Eve as an illustration of disordered love, where the wrong good was prioritized. Can you identify situations today where people (or you yourself) might be tempted to make a similar choice?
Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice Isaac was supplied as an example of properly ordered love and trust in God. What lessons can we draw from Abraham’s actions for our own relationships and trust in God?
The ordering of love is presented as a daily struggle, even in ordinary choices like healthy eating or exercise. How can small decisions help train us to order our loves in bigger spiritual matters?
Katie explored how Jesus in Gethsemane seems to place union with the Father above even the salvation of others. How does this reframe the ultimate goal of the Christian life?
The episode ended by noting that Jesus’ stern warning about denying him before others is actually an affirmation of human freedom. How does the idea of freedom and personal responsibility shape your understanding of discipleship and evangelization?