Having a fear of God is not about terror but is found in a sense of humility that is virtuous and childlike, said Pope Francis during a homily on Nov. 29.
During Mass in the chapel of the Santa Marta residence, the pope said leading figures of the Christmas story are the small and the humble.
"We see this smallness, this little thing: a baby, a stable, a mother, a father… little ones," Vatican Radio reported the pope as saying.
"[They have] big hearts but the attitude of a child. And the Spirit of the Lord, the Holy Spirit comes to rest on this shoot and this small shoot will have the virtue of the childlike and the fear of the Lord," he said.
"He will walk in the fear of the Lord. Fear of the Lord is not terror: no, it is putting into practice God's commandment that he gave to our father Abram: ‘Live in my presence, be perfect,' Humble — this is humility, fear of the Lord is humility."