You may find this hard to believe, I am an introvert. I am shyer than I appear and do not do well in crowds. The fact that I can stand up before you week after week is a testament to the grace that God gives to those whom He calls to service. This is great news, but I can also testify that grace and anxiety can exist in the same person at the same time. Telling myself to calm down is about as effective as telling the waves of the ocean to stop. What sustains me, however, is the knowledge that anxiety is for the moment, but grace is eternal. Another anxiety situation for me has to do with having difficult conversations. Some of these involve ministry like being asked why bad things happen to good people. Or trying to explain that God has a plan for our wellbeing while a parent watches their child suffer. These and many moments like them, are again times when I count on the guidance of the Holy Spirit. But the moments that cause me the most anxiety is when I must have a conversation with someone I have hurt or someone who has hurt me. I find it difficult to have a conversation with a staff member whom I need to correct or challenge. There are a host of other conversations that raise my anxiety level, that test my social skills, and that require me to humble myself and to admit I do not know everything. I often wonder if the reason so few people come to confession is that they are afraid of having a difficult conversation. They are, perhaps, afraid that the priest who is in the confessional will now think of them as their sins rather than as a parishioner. Or maybe they are afraid that what they have to say is the worst thing that the priest has ever heard so they are ashamed to have this conversation. Or could it be that having to humble ourselves to admit that we are not perfect, that we are not even trying to be perfect, makes us weak and vulnerable? Fear of difficult conversations can also affect our prayer life. Prayer is conversation with God. Prayer is not just asking God for stuff, or apologizing for missing the mark, nor is prayer just meant to make us feel good. Instead, prayer is the moment when without fear we can have all the difficult conversations we need to have. In our conversation with God, He wants to know our fears, our frustrations, and even our doubts. As we pray, we are meant to bare our whole self to the one who created us in His image and likeness. Like confession this can be a very difficult conversation. It requires us to admit we need help, it requires us to acknowledge out sins, it requires us to be humble enough to admit that God is God, and we are not. In our conversation with God, we must be willing to own the times that we have turned our backs on Him and to receive the challenge to holiness that God may patiently issue to us for the thousandth time. Whether we are introverts or extroverts, shy or gregarious, all of us must, from time to time, have honest and difficult conversations. Our conversations with God need not be difficult. If we keep in mind that God is love, that He desires to love us, that He sent his Son to save us, then our conversations with God, our prayer, will be the most efficacious conversation we have on any day at any time. Prayer is our opportunity to be honest and open, to hide nothing, to be happy or sad, angry, or content, grateful or in need. Prayer is the moment when can garner the courage to show another that we love them, or the grace to humbly challenge another to the path of holiness. Prayer is the conversation that we have with God that allows us to hope for a better tomorrow and for eternal life, happiness, and peace. Again, the words that come to mind are, be not afraid. We need not be afraid to reveal our whole self to God. We need not be afraid to welcome Jesus into our chaos and confusion. We need not be afraid to ask the Holy Spirit for direction and courage. We need not be afraid to have an honest conversation with God because, like the father waiting for the return of the prodigal son, God is waiting to hear from each of us and to celebrate our coming home to Him.