Fr Ed Homily 10-3-20

Anxiety

In the first reading and in the Gospel, we hear how God has planned and prepared a special place for us. As a loving Father, he wants us to have the best. But we must participate, we must be good stewards of what God has given us. The time will come when God will ask us to give an accounting of ourselves. What have we done with what God has given us? And when God grants us grace, we know that at some point the grace that has been given to us is returned to God. God’s grace is like a stream flowing in an outward direction from God. As this stream of grace moves toward people, we need to give them grace in return. Once again, we must be good stewards of what our gracious god has given us.

It is in the second reading that Saint Paul’s letter to the Phillippians draws our attention to a concern that people have today. St. Paul writes, “Do not worry about anything; rather, present on every occasion your petitions to God in prayer and supplication, full of gratitude. And may the peace of God, which surpasses all intelligence, watch over your hearts and thoughts in Christ Jesus.” Do not worry about anything, how can we do that? Many people live with anxiety today. They have many worries or doubts or fears. Sometimes these fears overwhelm us, and we get physically sick. Or we have the same symptoms of being physically ill. We can be so overwhelmed by this fear that we cannot even work or eat. It is very debilitating. Other people have concerns about doubts that are not so serious. They can do their daily activities, but they still face challenges that impair their ability to find joy and happiness in their lives.

This second reading is a challenge because everyone has a certain amount of doubts and fears. St. Paul instructs us to do all our prayers and requests in thanksgiving to God. What St. Paul is telling us to do is that when we are happy, we must offer our prayers to God in thanksgiving. He is also telling us that when we are sad or suffering, we must offer our prayers to God in thanksgiving. This is difficult. When we are suffering, we do not often think of thanking God because we are suffering. What St. Paul is trying to teach us is that no matter what is happening in our lives, we must always turn to God with thanksgiving. When we learn to turn to God in all situations of life, God grants us a grace to calm our fears. It’s something we all need to practice. Because life can be extremely difficult sometimes. But when we turn to God, we learn to trust that God is in control, all the time. And even in our worst moments, God is there offering His grace.

We must then learn, at all times, good or bad, we need to turn to God with our prayers and requests in thanksgiving.

May God bless you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen