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Courage to be Afraid
The Courage to Be Afraid is remarkably different from other spiritual books. It is a tour de force that examines many aspects of the Christian life, yet always returning to a simple, powerful theme: we have to let God act. Fr. Molinié addresses himself to us, children of the modern world, in order to recall us forcefully to what never changes, no matter the state of things: the divine life is in us, and will transform us if we surrender to it. “God’s love is a consuming fire...”
Some of the themes in the book include:
• Nature and grace
• Combat between pride and humility
• Development and stages of the spiritual life
• Suffering and the Mystery of God
Some of the themes in the book include:
• Nature and grace
• Combat between pride and humility
• Development and stages of the spiritual life
• Suffering and the Mystery of God
226 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1988
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
December 29, 2025
This is Fr. Marie-Dominique Molinié’s life's work, his understanding of God, evil, salvation, everything. A Dominican, he bases his work on the writings of St. Thomas Aquinas, a fellow Dominican and St. Thérèse of Lisieux, a Carmelite.
Molinié’s theme here is that we do not need to be afraid of the things we are usually afraid of—other people, the world, or life—but we must be afraid of ourselves. And even here we don’t need to worry about what we usually do—our weaknesses, sins and falls—as they are part of human nature. But we must be very afraid for the hardness of our hearts, for just as Jesus scolded the Apostles after His Resurrection (Mark 16:14) we also live our lives as if we don’t believe, or if we believe, then as if it doesn’t matter. That’s what hardness of heart means. Did Jesus rise from the Dead? How does that affect me today?
In fifteen different ‘Variations’, like chapters, Fr. Molinié elucidates what he means by ‘hardened hearts’ and how we are to let God soften our hearts of stone so that the fire of His love may burn within them. There were numerous things I gleaned from reading this book and the following is just a brief list. There is so much more, but this review would become unwieldly if I was to list them all! (Everything in italics below are direct quotes from the text.)
1) We have to let God act; we must yield ourselves to His action which is no small thing. We do not need to worry so much about derailing as to being flexible enough for God to put us back on the rails. It’s the saints who attain this flexibility and they have no heresy in their hearts. (In chapter after chapter the author stresses this in various different ways.) The trouble is very few of us are willing to let God have His way with us.
2) There is no solution to the modern world, there is only the Savior: do today what He asks today, and do tomorrow what He asks tomorrow. And don’t think it is enough to love God and your neighbor because you can’t. Christ has to make this possible by offering us the grace of His friendship. This is the abyss to which He asks us to respond. ... He who does not know how much he needs to be saved cannot know how much he is saved.
3) What sustains humanity is not governments or geniuses or men of action. It is the adorers. What does God ask of them? Not much: to believe that our hope lies in adoration. … God wants to be the only one who saves us: His glory is at stake. When we rely on action or on natural qualities, we attack the glory of God.
4) We are not important, we are loved. When we pretend to become better, we are unconsciously making great efforts to conceal, under “good deeds,” just how “evil” we are—the word is Christ’s—and to conceal it not only from the eyes of others, but first of all from our own. … Misery is the only thing that He cannot find in Himself, and so the only thing He can love outside Himself. … So, we must have courage, in spite of the risks, to proclaim to the world that we are useless, that we have no right to anything, and that we expend our forces in pure loss, that we labor as children play … and that is our joy.
5) The trial of faith is the only “problem” in life. … There is the light and there is the darkness, and that’s it. There is nothing we can do but allow ourselves to be transformed by the light, and then we understand everything. … Nothing can separate us from the charity of Christ, except Pride. … Humility means fundamentally that we look at God before we look at ourselves, and that we measure the abyss which separates the finite from the infinite. The better we have that vision, the more we are humble.
6) The Eucharist is this river of Peace which flows out of the side of Christ. And get it into your head that this is not an ideal, but a reality. … We can gauge the value of a theology by the importance it gives to the Eucharist, by its obsession with the Eucharist.
There is still more; this was just to encourage you to read this book. Each chapter returns to the central theme as stated above and views it from a different angle or illuminates a new aspect.
Those wondering about the title should know that to accept Fr. Molinié’s vision will open a new and very real fear because it forces you to look at and realize that you might in fact not be saved. Knowing that, only a few will venture to do so, which is what makes it courageous to face this fear.
Variation 12 is called The Game of Mercy and it discusses (and refutes) the ways people think they can ‘beat the system’ and don’t need to worry about Heaven or Hell (because it doesn’t even exist). If, however, you do believe in both and in Purgatory, have the courage to read this book. As for myself, I will be keeping it nearby along with a few other books which I pull out frequently to reread. This book probably more than any other I have read this year has affected me the most.
Most highly recommended.
Molinié’s theme here is that we do not need to be afraid of the things we are usually afraid of—other people, the world, or life—but we must be afraid of ourselves. And even here we don’t need to worry about what we usually do—our weaknesses, sins and falls—as they are part of human nature. But we must be very afraid for the hardness of our hearts, for just as Jesus scolded the Apostles after His Resurrection (Mark 16:14) we also live our lives as if we don’t believe, or if we believe, then as if it doesn’t matter. That’s what hardness of heart means. Did Jesus rise from the Dead? How does that affect me today?
In fifteen different ‘Variations’, like chapters, Fr. Molinié elucidates what he means by ‘hardened hearts’ and how we are to let God soften our hearts of stone so that the fire of His love may burn within them. There were numerous things I gleaned from reading this book and the following is just a brief list. There is so much more, but this review would become unwieldly if I was to list them all! (Everything in italics below are direct quotes from the text.)
1) We have to let God act; we must yield ourselves to His action which is no small thing. We do not need to worry so much about derailing as to being flexible enough for God to put us back on the rails. It’s the saints who attain this flexibility and they have no heresy in their hearts. (In chapter after chapter the author stresses this in various different ways.) The trouble is very few of us are willing to let God have His way with us.
2) There is no solution to the modern world, there is only the Savior: do today what He asks today, and do tomorrow what He asks tomorrow. And don’t think it is enough to love God and your neighbor because you can’t. Christ has to make this possible by offering us the grace of His friendship. This is the abyss to which He asks us to respond. ... He who does not know how much he needs to be saved cannot know how much he is saved.
3) What sustains humanity is not governments or geniuses or men of action. It is the adorers. What does God ask of them? Not much: to believe that our hope lies in adoration. … God wants to be the only one who saves us: His glory is at stake. When we rely on action or on natural qualities, we attack the glory of God.
4) We are not important, we are loved. When we pretend to become better, we are unconsciously making great efforts to conceal, under “good deeds,” just how “evil” we are—the word is Christ’s—and to conceal it not only from the eyes of others, but first of all from our own. … Misery is the only thing that He cannot find in Himself, and so the only thing He can love outside Himself. … So, we must have courage, in spite of the risks, to proclaim to the world that we are useless, that we have no right to anything, and that we expend our forces in pure loss, that we labor as children play … and that is our joy.
5) The trial of faith is the only “problem” in life. … There is the light and there is the darkness, and that’s it. There is nothing we can do but allow ourselves to be transformed by the light, and then we understand everything. … Nothing can separate us from the charity of Christ, except Pride. … Humility means fundamentally that we look at God before we look at ourselves, and that we measure the abyss which separates the finite from the infinite. The better we have that vision, the more we are humble.
6) The Eucharist is this river of Peace which flows out of the side of Christ. And get it into your head that this is not an ideal, but a reality. … We can gauge the value of a theology by the importance it gives to the Eucharist, by its obsession with the Eucharist.
There is still more; this was just to encourage you to read this book. Each chapter returns to the central theme as stated above and views it from a different angle or illuminates a new aspect.
Those wondering about the title should know that to accept Fr. Molinié’s vision will open a new and very real fear because it forces you to look at and realize that you might in fact not be saved. Knowing that, only a few will venture to do so, which is what makes it courageous to face this fear.
Variation 12 is called The Game of Mercy and it discusses (and refutes) the ways people think they can ‘beat the system’ and don’t need to worry about Heaven or Hell (because it doesn’t even exist). If, however, you do believe in both and in Purgatory, have the courage to read this book. As for myself, I will be keeping it nearby along with a few other books which I pull out frequently to reread. This book probably more than any other I have read this year has affected me the most.
Most highly recommended.
October 7, 2022
This is a spiritual masterpiece.
December 30, 2022
“The Courage to be Afraid is remarkably different from other spiritual books.” This can’t be more true!
The author helps us to “become as little children” as Our Lord desires - to be at peace with our weakness and let Christ save us, while at the same time to love and follow him with all the fierce intensity of a child.
I believe I marked this book up more than any other book I’ve read (except, perhaps, Marmion’s Union with God). I’m not sure how the author managed to continue to write with so much relevance for the entire length of the book! I would say there’s something there for everyone, no matter where they are in the spiritual life. Even for the scrupulous, there may be individual parts of the book that might be difficult, but if one takes into account the context, I believe it should be beneficial for them (follow your spiritual director, of course). What benefits we all receive when we let go and let God act!
There’s not much more I can say—besides that you should take up and read! It’s refreshing and so helpful to read a modern book on spirituality that is a far cry from being modernist. It certainly speaks to us and the psychological tendencies we have today, helping us to know ourselves—but at the same time feeding our souls with the solidity of Catholic doctrine.
The author helps us to “become as little children” as Our Lord desires - to be at peace with our weakness and let Christ save us, while at the same time to love and follow him with all the fierce intensity of a child.
I believe I marked this book up more than any other book I’ve read (except, perhaps, Marmion’s Union with God). I’m not sure how the author managed to continue to write with so much relevance for the entire length of the book! I would say there’s something there for everyone, no matter where they are in the spiritual life. Even for the scrupulous, there may be individual parts of the book that might be difficult, but if one takes into account the context, I believe it should be beneficial for them (follow your spiritual director, of course). What benefits we all receive when we let go and let God act!
There’s not much more I can say—besides that you should take up and read! It’s refreshing and so helpful to read a modern book on spirituality that is a far cry from being modernist. It certainly speaks to us and the psychological tendencies we have today, helping us to know ourselves—but at the same time feeding our souls with the solidity of Catholic doctrine.
July 26, 2025
The book is not an easy read. Sometimes, one has to read sentences twice to understand them. This book goes beyond the average spiritual read, it is much deeper. It is eye-opening. In short, when we love God, we have to empty ourselves and completely surrender to His Love.
October 5, 2024
This book is truly a spiritual masterpiece. I began reading it during a 3-day silent retreat with fellow traditional Dominican Tertiaries, where we attended conferences on the Interior Life, as presented by Saint John of the Cross. The insights from those conferences beautifully complemented the content of this book.
Upon returning from the retreat, I began the Marian Re-Consecration, and once again, the reflections from the consecration aligned perfectly with the themes of this book, extending the spirit of the retreat. When it was just me and the book, the impact was profound. From the first subsection, I was engrossed. The promises and wisdom contained within were truly delivered.
This is a book I plan to revisit, perhaps every five years or so, as I believe it will continue to reveal deeper insights over time. I recommend reading it slowly and reflectively—spending a week on each chapter if possible. Personally, I spent a day or two on each subsection, allowing its depth to truly sink in. This is one of those rare works that will make you reevaluate other books in the same genre, leaving you to wonder: "Does anything else compare?"
Upon returning from the retreat, I began the Marian Re-Consecration, and once again, the reflections from the consecration aligned perfectly with the themes of this book, extending the spirit of the retreat. When it was just me and the book, the impact was profound. From the first subsection, I was engrossed. The promises and wisdom contained within were truly delivered.
This is a book I plan to revisit, perhaps every five years or so, as I believe it will continue to reveal deeper insights over time. I recommend reading it slowly and reflectively—spending a week on each chapter if possible. Personally, I spent a day or two on each subsection, allowing its depth to truly sink in. This is one of those rare works that will make you reevaluate other books in the same genre, leaving you to wonder: "Does anything else compare?"
October 22, 2022
I highly recommend reading this book! The theme of letting God act certainly runs contrary to our fallen nature, which the author clearly understands. He helps to uncover obstacles to the spiritual life that I never even realized were obstacles.
November 8, 2024
Toute vie est composé d’étapes vers la mort. Donc il faut se préparer pour la fin et avoir le courage d’avoir peur avant laisser nos vies aux mains de Jésus Christ.
April 24, 2017
Tremendo.
Para releer de vez en cuando.
Para releer de vez en cuando.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews