Do not look with fear
on the changes and chances of this life;
rather look to them with full faith that as they arise,
God – whose you are – will deliver you out of them.

He has kept you hitherto.
Do not but hold fast to His dear hand,
and He will lead you safely through all things;
and when you cannot stand, He will bear you
in His arms.

Do not anticipate what will happen tomorrow.
The same everlasting Father who cares for you today
will take care of you tomorrow and every day.
Either He will shield you from suffering or
He will give you unfailing strength to bear it.

Be at peace, then, and put aside all anxious thoughts
and imaginations.

St. Francis de Sales (1567 – 1622) was a Catholic bishop of Geneva and noted for his sermons urging ordinary people to pursue a holy life within their worldly responsibilities. “Frances’ great work was to show how ordinary life can be sanctified,” says a modern commentator. St Francis de Sales has been called the patron saint of writers because of all of the letters and commentaries he produced during his life. His prose is always simple and his message gentle.

Fear and anxiety – the source of much of our mental illness today. We use tranquilizers, take drugs, talk to therapists, attend seminars on meditation and positive thinking, seek out gurus, amass fame and fortunes, and look for the Secret that will quiet our anxious minds – that will help us to stop worrying about the state of our health, the state of our finances, the state of our relationships and our souls.

Notice that St. Francis acknowledges that life is full of changes and chances but also that we should look at them as they arise – “not anticipate what will happen tomorrow”. Dealing with one thing at a time, one thought at a time, remembering that the Divine is always there to support us.

How hard is it to trust that the Divine will take care of all of our problems – not some of them but all of them? How can we be trusting enough that the defense mechanisms we call our thoughts can finally be quieted? How long does it take to reach the peace that passeth all understanding?

What is it we are really afraid of? That we will die and be forever alone? Or, that we are divine and have no individual existence?