10/18/2025
🌿 The Grace of Peace in the Midst of Anxiety
“Anxiety is the greatest evil that can befall a soul except sin. God commands you to pray, but He forbids you to worry.”
— St. Francis de Sales
Anxiety is a quiet storm that stirs within the human heart — an unseen struggle that has touched every age and every soul. We worry about what might happen, about what others might think, or about circumstances beyond our control. Yet more than four centuries ago, St. Francis de Sales, the gentle Doctor of the Church, gave us a timeless antidote: “God commands you to pray, but He forbids you to worry.”
His wisdom pierces through the noise of our restless age. For St. Francis, anxiety was not simply an emotional burden — it was a spiritual temptation, a subtle distrust in God’s loving providence. Worry tries to seize control of what belongs to God alone. Prayer, in contrast, releases control; it is the sacred language of trust, the soul’s way of saying, “I believe You are with me, even here.”
St. Francis knew what it meant to live amid uncertainty. He endured wars, illness, and personal trials, yet his writings radiate serenity. His peace was not the absence of hardship but the presence of divine confidence. He discovered that when the soul clings to God, even storms lose their power to shake it.
To live without anxiety does not mean to live without care or responsibility. It means to carry life’s weight with the quiet assurance that you are not carrying it alone. As St. Francis gently counsels:
“Do not look forward to what may happen tomorrow; the same everlasting Father who cares for you today will take care of you then.”
This is the heart of Christian peace — not an escape from life’s troubles, but the grace to face them with trust. When anxiety rises, prayer becomes an act of surrender, a doorway through which God’s peace can enter.
🌸 Reflection
Each time your heart begins to tremble, pause and breathe this simple prayer:
“Lord, I surrender this anxiety into Your hands. Replace it with Your peace.”
Let that be your moment of trust — the instant you choose faith over fear, surrender over control. Then, as St. Paul promised, “the peace of Christ, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:7)
🕊️ May your soul rest in that peace — steadfast, still, and held in the gentle care of God.