The second reading at last weekend’s Masses began with St. Paul’s exhortation: “Brothers and sisters, have no anxiety at all, but in everything… make your requests known to God. Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and mind in Christ Jesus.” St. Paul’s words express the theme of much of what took place when the relics of Padre Pio visited our parish just over a week ago. Firstly, because Padre Pio often counseled people to “pray, hope, and don’t worry.” But the visit of the relics also happened to fall on the feast day of St. Therese of Lisieux (1873-97). As a little girl, St. Therese suffered a nervous breakdown following the death of her mother. She was plagued by scruples and was extremely sensitive, bursting into tears over the smallest disturbance. But when she was 13, she experienced a special grace, a sudden surge of divine strength, that healed her of her anxiety and restored her mental health. Eventually, Therese would develop a spirituality called “The Little Way,” in which she found confidence and strength in her identity as a beloved child of God. Therese understood her limitations, her inability to control the world around her and her relationship with God. And so, she was determined to entrust herself completely to God’s will for her and love Him with the simple love of a child, allowing Him to care for her and love her as He knew best – even in times of suffering, in moments when she didn’t understand what He was doing. This spirituality of the Little Way is available to everyone, and it is at the heart of Padre Pio’s spiritual counsel. Its importance as a spiritual insight led to Therese being recognized as a Doctor of the Church in 1997.
The Little Way is a gift to our anxious age, when too often we hear people who no longer practice their faith describe the Church as a cause of their anxiety, referring to themselves as “Recovering Catholics,” or speaking derisively about something they call “Catholic guilt.” This is a grave misunderstanding of things, for the Church is in fact a refuge from worry and anxiety. It is in the Church that we find Truth, while the world claims that each of us determines for ourselves the meaning of life and what is true. It is in the Church that we find Grace, while the world promotes perfectionism, having us believe success depends entirely on us. It is in the Church that we find Mercy, while the world permits everything, remembers everything, and forgives nothing. In the Church’s sacraments we find Life, while the world with growing frequency proposes death as a solution to the pain of existence. In the Church we find the most intimate friendship with God, Who made us and knows exactly who and what we are, and offers us everything we need in this life to prepare for eternity with Him in the life to come. Saints like Therese and Padre Pio understood the Church as a refuge from worry and anxiety because, as members of the Church we are God’s beloved children. By trusting in His love even in times of suffering and confusion, we are given the grace to pray, hope, persevere, and not worry.
posted 10/10/26
