Worry Is Useless. Trust God.
My History of Worrying
Worry is useless, but I’m an inveterate worrier. One of my earliest memories is my first-grade teacher calling me a worrywart. Since to me that was like warthog, I thought it was a horrible name. Probably worrying turned me into a nail biter. My mom did her best to cure me, even telling me if I swallowed a fingernail it would turn into a worm in my stomach! I quit the habit, but worry can still make me waste hours at night tossing and turning.
Ill Effects of Worrying
Worry has some negative consequences. It harms our physical and mental health. It causes depression, fatigue, digestive issues, headaches, and muscle tension. Stress hormones affect the heart, blood vessels, and other systems. Worry causes problems with appetite, sleep, relationships and job performance. Extreme anxiety may lead to overeating, weight gain, problems with memory and concentration, smoking, or alcohol and drug use. It can cause ulcers and a heart attack.
Quotations about Worrying
Here is what wise people said about worrying:
“Worrying is carrying tomorrow’s load with today’s strength—carrying two days at once. Worry doesn’t empty tomorrow of its sorrow. It empties today of its strength.” —Corrie Ten Boom
“I am an old man have known a great many troubles, but most of them never happened.” —Mark Twain
“Worry is like a rocking chair. It gives you something to do but never gets you anywhere.” —Erma Bombeck
“Do not worry about whether or not the sun will rise. Be prepared to enjoy it.” —Pearl Bailey
“A great many worries can be diminished by realizing the unimportance of the matter which is causing anxiety.” —Bertrand Russell
“Do you remember the things you were worrying about a year ago? … Didn’t most of them turn out all right after all? “ —Dale Carnegie
“Worrying is like paying on a debt that my never come due. “ —Will Rogers
“Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today” (Matt. 6:34). —Jesus Christ.
How to Quell Worrying
Exercise, eat right foods, meditate.
Keep a journal.
Relax through yoga, deep breathing, massage.
Record good things in your journal.
Talk with family and friends.
Put a rubber band on your wrist and pop it when you go into a worry mode.
Trusting in God to Lessen Worrying
You may be watching the amazing ten-part series The Americas narrated by Tom Hanks. It’s Sunday evenings on channel 3. Accompanied by stunning videos made with the help of drones, Hanks tells the stories of the lands, animals, birds, and insects in America. What impressed me is the care God took in designing everything, for example, the instinct that compels monarch butterflies to fly south. God’s providence is nothing less than fantastic.
Jesus employed the physical world in his lesson on trust. He said, “Do not worry about your life” and then pointed out that birds don’t work, but our heavenly Father feeds them. Lilies don’t work either, but God clothes them elegantly. Jesus asks, “Can worrying add a single hour to your lifespan?”
Henry Ford had the right idea. He said, “With God in charge, I believe everything will work out for the best in the end. So what is there to worry about?”
So take Saint Padre Pio of Pietrelcino’s advice: “Pray, hope, and don’t worry.”
Here is a song about trusting in God:
• When has something you worried about not happened after all?
• How do you combat worry?
Special Devotions Enrich Spirituality: Saints Knew This
Devotions of the Saints
Special devotions are important. In the process of writing my next book, I came across this quotation from Saint Peter Julian Eymard, “Try to have a favorite topic of prayer, such as a devotion to the passion of Jesus, the Blessed Sacrament, awareness of the divine presence.”
Saint Peter Julian Eymard himself was devoted to the Blessed Sacrament, as shown by his founding the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament for men and the Servants of the Blessed Sacrament for women. Many other Saints are known for favorite devotions. Some might be familiar; others, new to you:
• Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque loved the Sacred Heart of Jesus and promoted devotion to it as Jesus directed her in visions. Thanks to her, we have the practice of receiving Communion on the First Fridays of the months. She also promoted having the Feast of the Sacred Heart.
• Saint Alphonsus Liguori was devoted to the Blessed Virgin Mary. He exhorted others to pray to her, prayed the Rosary every day, and wrote the classic book The Glories of Mary.
• Saint Paul of the Cross was devoted to Christ’s Passion and founded the Congregation of the Passion of Jesus Christ.
• Saint Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows had deep devotion to the Seven Sorrows of Mary and meditated on it every day.
• Saint Faustina Kowalska had a special devotion to the Child Jesus.
• Saint Bernardine of Siena spread devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus. He introduced the monogram IHS, from the Greek word for Jesus, and composed the Litany of the Holy Name of Jesus.
• Saint Catherine of Siena’s central devotion was the most precious blood of Jesus. In fact, her dying words were “the Blood, the Blood.”
• Saint Thérèse of Lisieux favored the Holy Face. Her full religious name was Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face. Interestingly, as a child St. Julie Billiart and her sister went to Laon seeking a cure for their poor eyesight through the miraculous image of the Holy Face there. Both girls were healed.
• Saint Elizabeth of the Trinity naturally was devoted to the Trinity. She wrote a beautiful prayer to the Three Persons.
• Saint John Massias is known as “Helper of the Poor Souls” because of his constant prayers for them. Every night he prayed three rosaries for them on his knees.
• Blessed Elena Guerra is close to being proclaimed a saint is known as “an apostle of the Holy Spirit. She prompted Pope Leo to urge Catholics to pray to the Holy Spirit, which he did, including in an encyclical, Divinum Illud Munus.
Devotion to Saints
(Clicking on the blue heading above will take you to an earlier post about patron saints.)
You might have a devotion to a particular saint like your baptismal patron saint, the one your church is named for, or one that corresponds to your special interest—like St. Francis of Assisi if you are concerned about the environment.
Saint André Bessette had a passionate, lifelong devotion to Saint Joseph. He kept a small statue of him on his windowsill. As a brother in the Congregation of the Holy Cross, he managed to raise enough money to build a chapel in honor of St. Joseph, but he dreamed of a basilica, which became a reality, St. Joseph Oratory in Montreal. Brother was known for miraculous healings. (The brother-in-law of one of our Sisters was named for him after the man’s mother was cured.) When people attributed a cure to Brother André, he always said, “I do not cure.”
I have special devotion to two women saints: Saint Catherine of Siena, who is my patron saint, and Saint Julie Billiart, who founded the original Sisters of Notre Dame.
In my home this picture of St. Catherine is on the wall.
A few years ago I wrote a novel about our Mother Julie, which was translated into Portuguese and distributed by our Sisters in Brazil to celebrate their anniversary.
One of our Sisters was enamored with Saint Pio of Pietrocino (Padre Pio). She must be happy he was declared a Saint. Our Sister Cupertino was a great fan of St. Joseph Cupertino. Every year on his feastday she would put together a display about him.
Your Devotion?
If you don’t have a focus enriching your spiritual life, why not adopt one? You might find prayers related to your special devotion or compose one, display pictures of your devotion in your home, or visit churches named for it.
• What special devotion do you have…or would like to foster?
• Who do you know that has a special devotion?
Imperfections and Failures, Pros and Cons
Imperfections can have pros and cons. I recently produced an imperfect baby blanket. As I finished crocheting it, I ran out of the variegated yarn with four shell stitches left to make. Rather than ripping out the last incomplete row, I used white, sparkling yarn to make those four shells. So, yes, my blanket is imperfect. Hopefully, no one will notice. A side benefit was that my sister taught me how to make a new border using that white yarn for a ruffle.
Beauty in Imperfections
I took comfort in the fact that the Navajo inserted a mistake on purpose as they wove blankets. Supposedly this was to honor their gods, who alone are perfect. For the same reason, the gorgeous ceilings in mosques have small irregularities. Japanese artists add imperfections in their work as a necessary ingredient called “wabi-sabi.” This could be asymmetry, roughness, or a blemish like a crack. People can find beauty in imperfections, which make things unique.
Flaws can also add value. Coins minted with an error and stamps printed with a mistake can be worth thousands of dollars.
Imperfect Bodies
Because we are the result of evolution, some features of our bodies are imperfect. For one example, we hiccup. When fish and amphibians first emerged on land, they needed gills for oxygen in water and lungs on land. In water they could close the entrance to the lungs. Sometimes when we take in air, ancient muscles close the entrance to our lungs.
Dimples are a defect in a muscle, but a charming defect. Beauty marks and freckles too are flaws, but some people find them attractive.
The Search for Perfection
At the age of 73, Michelangelo was working on a 10-year project: the Florentine Pieta, probably intended for his tomb. At one point, he was so dissatisfied either with his work or with a flaw in the marble that he hacked his masterpiece, breaking a leg. Later an assistant repaired it.
This reminded me of my favorite artist who illustrated some of my works. The publisher was not happy because it too her so long. She explained to me that when she woke up in the morning and looked at her work of the previous day, she didn’t like it and tossed it. Probably some pictures in her wastebasket excelled other artists’ work.
I also recall having an opportunity to use a potter’s wheel for the first time. I tried to make a dish as a Christmas gift for my parents. Every time I shaped the clay, something was wrong with it. I quit and left without any dish at all.
Perils of Being a Perfectionist
As from the previous examples, being a perfectionist has its flaws! It wastes time and energy. It also causes stress and anxiety. Fear of making a mistake can also stymie achievements, as in Michelangelo’s case. St. Teresa of Avila said, “He who makes no mistakes, makes nothing.”
Positive Results of Imperfections
Not achieving perfection keeps us humble. It protects us from having a big head and thinking we are better then other people. It may even make us realize that we need God’s help.
At times, good might result from failure. When a dish or vase is broken, the Japanese art of Kintsugi transforms it into something beautiful. The pottery is repaired with gold.
Imperfection can have surprising, good consequences. When I played five classical pieces for an audience of 176, I messed up every one of them despite having practiced for weeks. I made comments like, “You should have been here yesterday when I practiced.” “Am I making you nervous?” “Let’s try that again.” Afterwards people said I was the comic relief for the long program. They loved my personality. They thought I was hilarious. So the fiasco had its benefits.
The Imperfections of Saints
Saints were not all beautiful or handsome. They were not all smart or pleasant to be with. A old book is titled Saints with Tilted Halos. Saints (other than our Blessed Mother) were not morally perfect. St. Therese of Lisieux was sensitive and proud. St. Jerome had a temper, and he and St. Augustine traded mean letters. The apostles James and John argued about who would be the greatest in heaven.
St. Francis de Sales said, “We must not be disturbed at our imperfections, since for us perfection consists in fighting against them. How can we fight against them unless we see them or overcome them unless we face them.”
Jesus
To some people Jesus was a failure. No doubt he felt like one on some days—as when the apostles didn’t understand his lessons and when disciples walked away from him. The gossip in Nazareth was that he was out of his mind. Religious leaders said he was possessed and accused him of faults. Romans viewed him as an unsuccessful king. Regardless, he did save all humankind.
Lent: A Time for Aiming High
We have the next weeks to perfect ourselves when it comes to living as a follower of Jesus. It’s time to evaluate our lives, check on our virtues, confess our sins, and begin again. Besides, or instead of, giving up chocolate or donuts, we might focus on eliminating one or more faults or adopting a practice (like extra time devoted to prayer) to bring us closer to holiness.
If you haven’t decided on a Lenten practice yet, here are some ideas from the Sisters of Notre Dame:
May you have a successful Lent, even though you might slip up a little!
On YouTube there are dozens of videos about failing. Here is one:
• When have you profited by not being a perfectionist?
• When has a failure led to something good?
The Sense of Smell: An Underappreciated Gift of God?
In the book The Heartbeat of Faith: Fifty-Nine Poems, Fingerplays, and Prayers that I wrote for little children is this poem:
My Nose
With my nose I smell things like these:
Bacon, popcorn, and Christmas trees,
Babies, roses, and apple pie.
And this is probably the reason why
My nose has such an important place —
Right in the middle of my face.
The Sense of Smell
The sense of smell, one of our five senses, is an ingenious invention that you might thank God for. Together with our sense of taste, it creates flavor and helps us enjoy food like bacon and wine. It protects us from danger as when a whiff tells us that milk has gone sour, our supper is burning, or there is a skunk in the neighborhood. Smells whet our appetite and affect our mood. Lavender sprayed on our pillow might help us to sleep.
Some smells are pleasant like lilac air freshener, the fragrances of flowers, and the mingled scents in a wine’s bouquet. We use perfume, cologne, and deodorants to smell better. Still other smells are repulsive like stinky feet, dirty clothes, or garbage.
Smell even plays a role in mating among animals and humans as well. You’ve probably heard of pheromones.
Aromas can evoke memories. The smell of today’s freshly baked bread reminds me of the delicious loaves my mother made.
In the past it was thought that our nose could identify 10,000 different smells. However, recent research shows that our noses can detect one trillion difference odors. Yes, one trillion! (To compare, our eyes distinguish only about ten million colors and our ears detect just ½ million tones.)
One of the Best Aromas
How This Sense Works
The mechanisms involved in smelling are complicated, and different theories are advanced to explain the process. Essentially, odor is carried by molecules of chemicals floating in the air. When these enter our noses, neuron receptors with hair-like projections detect them. We have 450 types of receptors, while dogs have twice as many. These receptors send electrical impulses to the brain, which interprets them as specific smells in an amazing tenth of a second. Different people have different sense of smells, depending on their genes.
More complete explanations of the biology of smelling can be found on the Internet.
When the Sense of Smell Disappears
Glasses or contact lenses improve our sense of sight, and hearing aids improve our sense of hearing. What about the sense of smell? During a cold not being able to smell is annoying and affects our taste too, but eventually it comes back. Some people lose their sense of smell more drastically, for instance, from COVID. Retraining therapy may work. This consists of smelling about eight of strong smells like peppermint and peanut butter every day, each for about two minutes, and recalling times you have experienced that odor. Memory will jog your brain to start identifying the smells.
Memory and Smells
Here is a little experiment: Imagine how each thing listed smells. Although you are not actually sensing it, your brain will recall it, sort of virtually.
The smell after rain
A rose
Your favorite wine
A pine tree
A cedar chest
An orange
An onion
Freshly baked bread
A skunk (sorry!)
Your favorite perfume
Sense of Smell in Other Creatures
Here is some information you probably don’t need to know: snakes smell partially with their tongues, which they constantly project. Fish smell by taking in water through their nares, roseate-shaped circles on the sides of their head. Insects smell with their antennae. Birds have a poor sense of smell, while whales and dolphins apparently have none. Elephants smell with nostrils at the end of their trunks and can detect water twelve miles away!
Types of Noses
Noses come in different shapes and sizes. People who aren’t satisfied with theirs can modify them through surgery. Shapes of noses have been associated with certain kinds of personalities.
Noses in Idioms
Since words fascinate me, I wondered how many expressions are related to noses. As a child, often I heard my mother describing me as having my “nose in a book.” Here are few of the dozens of ways we use “nose.”
- Cut off your nose to spite your face
- Have your nose in the air
- Keep your nose clean.
- On the nose
- Powder one’s nose
- Right under one’s nose
- Rub someone’s nose in something
- Put your nose to the grindstone
- Stick your nose in
- Get your nose out of joint
- Have your nose in a book
- Thumb one’s nose at
- Won by a nose
- Count noses
- Look down your nose at
- Can’t look past the end of your nose
- Plain as the nose on our face
- Turn your nose up
An Unrelated Bonus
While getting rid of excess documents and videos on my computer, I came across this video that has nothing to do with noses, but is fascinating. Enjoy …
• What are some of your favorite fragrances?
Saints for Black History Month
In this month devoted to Black History, we Catholics remember and honor several Black Saints and Saints-to-Be. On a table in the Gathering Room of our Sisters of Notre Dame chapel in Chardon, Ohio, you can see a display of their pictures.
On the window sills along a hall stand their pictures with a quotation from them. This week I’m letting them help produce this blog post . . .
How appropriate that February is the month of St. Valentine’s Day, a celebration of love. These holy people loved God with all their heart.
Last week I introduced St. Martin de Porres. Today may I present Saint Josephine Bakhita, who is not well-known. She died the year I was born, 1947, and became the first African woman to be canonized in modern times. She is the patron saint of Sudan, which definitely needs her intercession nowadays.
Saint Josephine Bakhita
Josephine was born in Sudan around 1869, one of seven children in a well-to-do family. About the age of 8, Arab slave traders abducted her and and forced her to walk barefoot about 600 miles to El-Obeid. She was so shocked that she forgot her name; her enslavers called her Bakhita, Arab for lucky, and made her embrace Islam. On the journey she was sold twice.
In El-Obeid, an Arab bought her as a maid. One of his sons who was offended by her whipped and kicked her so cruelly that she was confined to her straw bed for over a month. Her next owner, a Turkish general, had her serve two women who whipped and beat her every day. They subjected to the horrific traditional custom of scarring. In all, 114 patterns were cut into her skin and filled with salt.
Improved Conditions
In 1883, Bakhita was bought by a kind Italian man and two years later left for Italy with him. After riding a camel for 400 miles, they arrived at a Sudan port and sailed to Italy. She was given to a friend, Augusto Michieli, and became a nanny to his daughter.
Although the Michielis went to Sudan to prepare to move there, the daughter and Bakhita were left in the care of the Canossian Sisters in Venice. Bakhita said, “Those holy mothers … introduced me to that God who from childhood I had felt in my heart without knowing who He was.”
When it was time to go to Sudan, Bakhita refused to leave. A court ruled that because the British had outlawed slavery in Sudan before she was born and in Italy it was illegal, she had never legally been a slave. She was free and chose to remain with the Canossians.
Conversion and Vocation
Bakhita was baptized, given the name Josephine, confirmed, and received Communion from the future Pope Pius X. Jesus became her “Master.” She joined the Canossians. For 42 years she was cook, sacristan, sewer, and doorkeeper at the same convent. When she visited other convents, she helped to prepare Sisters for work in Africa. She was known for her gentleness and humility.
Despite later pain and sickness, Sister Josephine was cheerful. One Saturday, when asked how she was, she replied, “I am so happy: Our Lady … Our Lady.” Those were her dying words.
When asked “What would you do if you were to meet your captors?” Josephine replied, “If I were to meet those who kidnapped me, and even those who tortured me, I would kneel and kiss their hands. For, if these things had not happened, I would not have been a Christian and a religious today.”
Sister Thea Bowman
You may recall that in 1989 Sister Thea Bowman addressed the United States Bishops and concluded by having them sing “We Shall Overcome” during which they linked arms. She is now a Servant of God, a step on the way to canonization. Here is a video of Mahalia Jackson singing that song:
Here also is a powerful video of Sister Thea’s speech to the bishops:
I’ve encountered sundry wonderful Black people in my personal history, such as my first-, second-, and fourth-grade teachers, a librarian in the public library I visited as a child, a schoolmate at Notre Dame Academy, a librarian and two housekeepers at Notre Dame College, the maintenance man at Regina High School, Cleveland’s Franciscan bishop, and the pastoral minister in our Health Care Center.
- Which Black person has enriched your life?
