Have No Anxiety

Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
    “Have no anxiety at all.”  St. Paul, have you met me?  It seems like in 2023 all we have is anxiety.  Hamas just attacked Israel, who has declared war on them.  We have this new “synod on synodality” which, depending on whom you talk to, is either going to change all these doctrines of the Church (most of the ones that are mentioned are teachings that can’t be changed, not even by the pope, FYI), or is an exercise in heresy that will result in a schism, a breaking of unity in the Church.  The economy is still struggling, and everything seems like it costs twice as much as it used to.  People are leaving the Church in droves, which is causing challenges for parishes and dioceses.  And yet, the Apostle to the Gentiles tells us today, “Have no anxiety at all.”  
    How do we live without anxiety?  And this is coming from the man who, more times that I would like to admit, have tossed and turned in my bed over the world with which I deal.  I imagine you have each had times where anxiety kept you up: maybe about your household finances, maybe about the well-being of your children and/or grandchildren.  Anxiety can especially difficult when you’re really good at thinking.  Because that mind that is used to processing information tries to process all information, and there are many things that are outside of our control.  And when we can’t resolve those issues, we become anxious.  We worry.  

    But St. Paul doesn’t leave us hanging.  He gives us practical advice: “whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious…think about these things.”  That may still seem like a pie in the sky idea, but it actually is quite practical.  
    Because anxiety comes from focusing on things beyond our control, or beyond our immediate control.  We think about the things that trouble our heart.  We can so often want to take the place of God and try to control things, which are, all too often, beyond our control.  Notice that St. Paul doesn’t say, “whatever is beyond your control, whatever might happen, whatever those things about which you can do nothing, think about these things.”  
    So think about these things, instead.  Think about what is true.  First and foremost, think about God.  This is part of the importance of having a relationship with God.  Satan wants us to forget about God and who He is.  He is our loving Father who wants what is good for us.  He never sends us anything evil.  Do we sometimes have to endure bad things?  Yes.  But God is not sending us evil.  He is always there for us, as well.  He never leaves us, no matter how bad things get.  
    Also, what is true about us?  First and foremost we are children of God.  Again, Satan wants us to forget about reality.  That means who God is, but also who we are.  We are not the sum of our failures.  We are not our sins.  We are not the external circumstances that are impressed upon us.  We are beloved sons and daughters in the Son of God.  
    Think on what is gracious.  When we think about what is gracious, we think about what is kind, what is courteous, what is pleasant.  But it comes from Latin word gratia, which can mean grace, but can also mean thanksgiving.  In the preface I say, “Let us give thanks to the Lord our God,” and in Latin it’s “Gratias agamus Domino Deo nostro.”  Do you want to rid anxiety from your life?  Start thinking about the things for which you are grateful: family, a job, friends, food, a house, or anything else.  It’s easier to focus on the things we think we lack, but it’s useless.  It just takes away from our joy that gives us pleasure in life.  It is harder to think about things for which we are grateful, but it provides much better effects.  And in those darkest moments of our life, where maybe it feels impossible to think about gracious things, have a good friend to help you out.  
    It can be so easy to be anxious because there are so many things outside of our control.  Our minds can go toward all the negative things because they seem to press in on us and demand our attention.  But we don’t have to focus on those things.  And it’s not spiritually helpful to focus on all the bad.  Instead, focus on what is true–both concerning God and us–and be grateful.  The world will always have evil, at least until Christ returns.  It will always scream for our attention.  But it doesn’t have to steal our joy and our hope, because those are in Christ, and Christ can never be taken away from us, not by war in the Middle East, not by Church politics, not by recession or inflation or anything else.  Have no anxiety.