Let Nothing Trouble You

In our reading this weekend, St Paul writes in his letter to the Philippians: Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. The Greek word for anxious is μεριμνάω, meaning to have an anxious concern based on apprehension about possible danger or misfortune. Jesus uses the word often. For example when he tells us not to be worried about what are we to eat and how are we to be clothed. He says: And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life. (Matt 6:27). Again, in St Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus says: When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. (Matt 10:19).

Note that Paul is not saying ‘try not to be anxious’; he is giving a command, Do not be anxious.

Why not be anxious? We need not be anxious because the Lord is coming. We are awaiting the second coming of Jesus, and our time of Advent is a time of preparation for this second coming. The way we deal with this feeling of anxiety is by prayer and supplication: With thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. (Phil 4:6-7). Note that we need to have a sense of thanksgiving to God even when we are amidst suffering. We should not hold back in making our needs known to God. We are called to trust in God.

Our great prayer of thanksgiving is the Eucharist. The word ‘Eucharist’ comes from the Greek word for ‘thanksgiving’. As we celebrate Mass we give all our feelings of anxiety and fear to God. We do this by giving our whole selves, in union with Jesus, who gave himself for us, through his death and resurrection:

‘The lives of the faithful, their praise, sufferings, prayer, and work, are united with those of Christ and with his total offering, and so acquire a new value. Christ’s sacrifice present on the altar makes it possible for all generations of Christians to be united with his offering.’ (CCC1368).

Let us ask for the grace to trust God in every circumstance, even in adversity. A prayer of St. Teresa of Jesus wonderfully expresses this trust:

Let nothing trouble you
Let nothing frighten you

Everything passes
God never changes

Patience
Obtains all

Whoever has God
Wants for nothing

God alone is enough.