Oblates of St. Francis de Sales

New DeSales World Newsletter - Summer Edition

Fear & Anxiety

Who hasn't been anxious? After all, they are many things in life - our family, our friends, our livelihood, our health, our dreams - that are important to us.

Ironically, anxiety and fear usually make it even more difficult to deal with those things that threaten what is important to us. While needing to be realistic, even the most challenging events and changes in our lives are better resolved with a calm, reasoned, and centered approach.

"You were never told not to think
about your advancement, but that you were
not to think about it anxiously."
(C XII)

"Fear is a greater evil that the evil itself."
(LW VI 12)

"Let the wind blow as it wills,
and not think that the rustling of leaves
is, in fact, a clash of arms."
(LW VI 6)

"Let the world turn upside down,
let everything be in darkness, in smoke,
in uproar - God is with us."
(LW VI 12)

"We must not fear fear."
(LW IV 13)

"It is quite enough to receive the evils which
do come upon us from time to time
without anticipating them
by imagination."
(LR IV 2)

"Anxiety and fear do not provide solace
for our pain but aggravate it, leading us
to a kind of breakdown in
courage and strength because
it appears that our pain has no possible remedy."
(In IV 11)

"Just as internal revolutions and troubles can cause the ruin of a state,
so an anxious and troubled heart no longer
has the strength to resist the assaults of the enemy."
(In IV 11)

"If you can share your anxiety with
your spiritual director or some trusted friend,
calm will be restored more quickly."
(In IV 11)