Anxiety & St. Benedict

Anxiety and St. Benedict

by Fr. Meinrad Miller

Anxiety and stress are not easy subjects to talk about. No one wants to seem to be less than perfect in life. Perhaps we are plagued with the delusional thinking that there are people who have no share in such trivial human ordeals. When I pray Psalm 73:4-5 I try to rid myself of these false and delusional thoughts, as if those people I imagined actually exist:

Psalm 73

For they suffer no pain; their bodies are healthy and sleek. They are free of the burdens of life; they are not afflicted like others.

The reality is that we are all on a journey together, all children of a loving Father in need of healing, the Father that is perfect. At Mass, right before Communion, we implore:

Deliver us, Lord, we pray, from every evil, graciously grant us peace in our days, that, by the help of your mercy, we may be always free from sin and safe from all distress, as we await the blessed hope and the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Prayer after the our father

When we pray, by the help of your mercy, we are in a sense admitting that we are powerless over the evil, the sin, and the distress (anxiety) that plague us both individually, and as a people. We need God’s mercy and grace every moment, given to us freely through the Blood of Jesus Christ. On November 30, 1980, Saint John Paul II issued his encyclical on mercy, Dives in Misericordia. In section 15 he reminds each of us of a great truth:

Modern man often anxiously wonders about the solution to the terrible tensions which have built up in the world and which entangle humanity. And if at times he lacks the courage to utter the word “mercy,” or if in his conscience empty of religious content he does not find the equivalent, so much greater is the need for the Church to utter his word, not only in her own name but also in the name of all the men and women of our time.

Saint Benedict lived in a time of great upheaval and change, not unlike the modern period described by St. John Paul II above. In the midst of the chaos of his day St. Benedict wanted to establish a School of the Lord’s Service. The word school itself comes from the word “schola” which means leisure. While the world seems to be falling apart around me, I have the leisure of silence, contemplation, entering deeply into the Word made Flesh, Jesus Christ, through reading of Sacred Scripture in Lectio Divina, praying the Liturgy of the Hours, and receiving the Sacraments.

When I am feeling stressed, I often remember the word of Our Lord to Martha, and I paraphrase Luke 10:41: “Meinrad, Meinrad, you are anxious and worried about many things.” Just that awareness of my anxiety and worry help me realize my powerlessness at that moment, and then with the grace of the Holy Spirit, I am able to turn my will and life over to the care of a Merciful Father who loves me to the core of my being. This awareness of God’s Mercy can be very helpful in our lives as we face daily stress. But we should also realize the power of the Scriptures and the Sacraments to bring about God’s healing grace in our lives. Finding other believers to share our experience, strength and hope can also be of great assistance. Many also find the guidance of a spiritual director and/or a counselor to help in getting over issues of anxiety.

Saint Benedict said it best. When I do not know where to turn, I can remember his words of wisdom in the Rule: “And finally, never lose hope in God’s mercy.”