Episode Transcript  

One

Do Not be Anxious

In the Gospel of today’s Mass, Jesus speaks directly to your heart, “Do not be anxious about your life... Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?” (Mt 6:25–26)

Jesus commands us, “Do not be anxious!” Anxiety is the fear that the future will not turn out the way we want or need. At its root, it’s the failure to trust that God is our Father and that He is taking care of us. But Jesus gives the remedy: you have a Father. And if God is your Father, He will always provide what you need. So, you are always safe.

The remedy to anxiety is to trust Providence.

Two

What is Providence?

Divine Providence is the way God, with wisdom and love, has from all eternity included every event, even your free good and bad choices, into His plan, and how He now actively guides all things, from the smallest details of your life to the greatest events of world history, toward the perfect fulfillment of His will.

Because God is outside of time and space, before He created the world, He foresaw every free decision of angels and humans, for good or for evil, and all the good and bad consequences, and He worked it all into His plan to bring about the greatest possible good. God knew everything that would happen, and He guides it to a perfect ending. Although God already knows every event, He truly allows us to make free choices, both good and evil, that He has wisely woven into His design for a perfect ending.

God is never the cause of evil, but He permits it because He respects our freedom and knows how to bring an even greater good from it. 

Individual angels and humans may freely reject God and go to hell, yet their evil cannot stop God’s plan for good for those who love Him. 

Three

Anxiety as a Failure to Trust Providence

Anxiety is the emotion we experience when we try to take control of what only God controls. We fear uncertainty and the future; we become hypervigilant and try to eliminate all uncertainty. But uncertainty is not dangerous. The more we try to control, the more anxious we become.

Avoidance or procrastination or the effort to control everything feeds the cycle. Healing begins when we stop! Stop avoiding, stop procrastinating, stop trying to control everything! Step into uncertainty. Do what you reasonably can. Give everything beyond your control to God. Begin to learn that uncertainty does not equal danger.

Imagine if you knew ahead of time how everything in your life was going to work out ahead of time. You wouldn’t want that, it takes away all the surprises, and you would be totally bored. The uncertainty in your life is not dangerous; it is the space for the surprise that makes life beautiful. 

Jesus teaches us that we are safe not because we control outcomes, but because our Father controls all outcomes. You don’t need to know the plan because you know the One who guides all things to good.

Four

The Remedy: Living as a Child of Providence

When I know that God is my Father and that His Providence governs everything, that takes the fear out of uncertainty, and then the anxiety fades. Because I am not required to control everything that is beyond my control: my health, career, family, or suffering. I am free to make choices, to act, and to live the adventure of life knowing my Father has already incorporated every choice, every trial, everything into His perfect plan. Even the worst evil cannot stop Him from working all things for good. 

As St. Paul says, “We know that in everything God works for good with those who love Him.” (Rom 8:28) And St. Julian of Norwich said, “All shall be well, and all shall be well. All manner of things shall be well.”

If God is my Father, I am safe. It won’t just be okay, it will be the best. Even in suffering, even in failure, even when others sin, providence transforms it all into the greatest good.

Five

The Resolution: Abandonment and Evidence

Every meditation should end with a practical resolution. Today: I will not try to predict every outcome. I will not demand certainty. When I feel anxious, I will remind myself, as Jesus says, “Your heavenly Father knows what you need.” So, I will do what I can; God will do the rest.” (Mt 6:32)

When anxiety rises, I will pray, “Father, You have already written this moment into my story. I trust You. I am safe in Your Providence.” Then I will act with trust. And after I act, I will look back. I will see how God provided. I will collect evidence that uncertainty was never dangerous, because my Father is always faithful. Each act of trust becomes proof that Providence holds my life. Even if I feel fear, I will act anyway: I will take the next right step. I will not procrastinate or avoid or escape the moment. I will place my hand in the hand of Providence and move forward. Because my Father is guiding absolutely everything, even my failures, even the evil done by others, toward my greatest good.

“Jesus, I trust in You.
”Father, I abandon myself to You.
”Mary, Our Lady of Providence, carry me.”

Suggested Resolutions:

Choose one resolution for today to help you grow closer to God, or create your own. Here are some ideas to inspire you. 

• Sit down at the end of each day and write down a list of ways in which God provided for you, sit and thank Him for all that He’s done and remember that He will continue to take care of you.

• When anxiety rises, pray, “Father, You have already written this moment into my story. I trust You. I am safe in Your Providence.”

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