Fr. Michael Williams

Our Lord gives us a command today that we generally pay little attention to: ‘Do not worry’. He tells us not to worry, because most people tend to worry, although some people tend to worry more than others. Mothers seem to be worriers, my does anyway! I remember arriving back home some years ago at about eleven in the evening and she said, ‘Where have you been I’ve been worried’ and I said, ‘Mother, I’m forty years of age!’

Mothers do worry and it’s understandable in many ways, as they love and care for their children, and naturally want no harm to come to them.

But Jesus commands us strongly: ‘Do not worry’. Ultimately it is because when we worry we are failing to place our trust in God’s providence. Specifically, Jesus tells us not to worry about material concerns: ‘Look at the birds in the sky…think of the flowers growing in the fields’; they are provided for. ‘[But] where life is based purely on materialistic values, people can be insecure, fretful and anxious’ (O’Flynn OFM). Having God as our anchor can give us a serenity and confidence that no storm in life can destroy.

The serenity prayer encapsulates the attitude we need to undertake as Christians: ‘God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to changes the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference’. Ultimately, to live out that prayer is to surrender to God. But we generally don’t want to surrender to God because we like to be in control. And worrying is about wanting to control everything as we would have it. But Our Lord says surrender your life to God and trust in Him, including when difficult or even tragic situations occur that we have no control over. We need to learn to hand over everything to God. ‘Worrying adds not one single cubit to your life’, says the Lord.

Of course bad things can happen in this world and often do happen, but it shouldn’t lead us into worrying Yes, situations happen that can and should make us grieve. But Jesus doesn’t say we shouldn’t grieve. In fact He says, ‘Blessed are those who mourn’. But He does command us not to worry, because worrying about situations never, ever changed a situation. Worrying is a complete waste of nervous energy. Say the Rosary instead, or read a passage from the Bible, or do something practical about what is concerning you if it’s feasible. But worrying is a waste of nervous energy! Jesus never did it and He advises us not to do it either: ‘Trust in God’.