Thursday, February 5, 2009

Anxiety and the Economy.


 It seems that every morning the reports on the economy are getting worse and worse. Horrendous reports about men killing their families are on the increase, stress, anxiety, worry, psychotropic drugs are no doubt at an all time high. At my company there has been forty lay offs and I might be on the chopping board by the end of the year. People are describing this time as a desperate time, where they feel a sense of drowning or falling into a hole of darkness and despair. 

     Today in my daily reading of Sacred Scripture the wonderful words of Paul rang with a breath of fresh air in my ears,

 "do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philip 4:6-7. 

     What words of wisdom and comfort in a perilous time! Paul here is echoing the Apostolic Tradition that handed down the teaching of Jesus in Mat 6:25-34 as well as Lk 12:22-32. We, being children of the Kingdom of God - need not worry about earthly possessions, earthly cares or earthly worries, since these are but transient and none will carry over into our eternal existence. We are in direct opposition to the attitude of those in the flesh. For to them today is all you got, so live while you can, party it up, and cross your fingers you don't lose your job. 

 Our hope and trust is utterly different. We are to set our complete and total trust in the Lord. en pantu Paul says, hymon ta aitemata gnorizestho pros ton theon. In consequence, we acquire a complete eirene tou theou he hyperechousa panta noun. It is this realization that we are taken care of that thanksgiving pours out of our hearts. The Greek of thanksgiving is eucharistias, where we as Catholics derive our word Eucharist, the ultimate form of thanksgiving and dependance on the grace of God as Irenaeus said. Those in the world do just the opposite, lost and desperate "For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened." Rom 1:21. Our hearts on the contrary Paul writes in Philippians will be guarded. 

Memorize this passage of Sacred Scripture and comfort those in your lives that feel they are drowning. 

4 comments:

George Weis said...

Thanks Rick!

It is amazing how differently the one who trusts in the Lord thinks about difficulty. So far, the Lord has been more than gracious to us! But we wait on Him, and pray for His provision on a daily basis. Anxiety is the opposite of trust and faith.

That scripture is so uplifting.

Be blessed for the sake of our Lord,

-g-

R. E. Aguirre. said...

Thanks George - so true, complete trust in the Lord is to live truly free knowing that everything that happens to us is ultimately in His hands and direction.

George Weis said...

Rick,

Thanks for all your thoughts! I see a greater light coming through in your words since the last stretch of blogging. Perhaps your scuffle with illness has allowed God to buff and finesse you even more!

He has a funny way of doing that doesn't He? Turmoil and difficulty have a way of shaping us into the likeness of the God-Man we follow. Blessed are those who mourn...

Rick, I truly have missed you around here. I still wish that I had a friend like you close by that could help me hammer away at this stuff. Although, you may have to stoop to my intellectual level, which I'm afraid is bellow your normal level of operation :)

I do understand your Posts though, so don't change that! I like this little post also, because the heart is coming through. Heart and Mind are both a part of the complete and spiritual man... don't you agree? I know you do... a rhetorical question of course!

Alright, Ora Pro Nobis my friend!

You pray for me, and I'll pray for you (feeling a Baptist vibe all the sudden... what would the latin be like for that song? Funny I'm sure!)

And now to Him, who is able to keep you from stumbling...

Blessings,
-g-

R. E. Aguirre. said...

Thank you for all the kind words George and yes God has shown me a lot in the last few months. And as always you have my personal e-mail do not be afraid to ask me questions there.