Cast all your care upon Him

Anxiety is a form of fear. God is not the one who terrifies us, but rather a distortion of God manipulated by demons, false teachers, or a malformed conscience.

Adam and Eve knew no disordered fear until they sinned and their consciences were troubled. 

St. Paul teaches, "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear: but of power, and of love, and of sobriety." (II Tim. 1,7)

We must combat fear by faith and reason. God is love, and His perfect supernatural charity expels all fear (1 John 4,18) in the believing heart. 

Fear can assume many forms but fear associated with personal guilt is the most menacing. Here Satan, the accuser of the brethren (Apoc. 12,10) marshals all manner of condemnations against us, exploiting our wounds and weaknesses. 

To this end we have the wonderful gift of the Sacrament of Confession whereby our priests in persona Christi absolve us of our sins and Christ infuses supernatural charity into our souls. We must have confident trust in our Lord's words to the Apostles: "Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them; and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained" (St. John 20,23). 

We are loved by God - what more could we ask? Yet as a father, He pities us and has enormous compassion for us knowing our lack of trust and courage intimately. He has no interest in frightening us who wish to belong to Him; it has been counted that the phrase 'fear not' or 'do not be afraid' appears 365 times in the Bible. 

St. Peter counsels us to "cast... all your care upon him, for he hath care of you" (1 Peter 5,7). Bring your fears to God Who loves you and desires to grant you peace that passes all understanding. The Psalmist feared, but obtained peace and courage through his prayers. So may we. 

"A thousand times a day cast your whole heart, your soul, your anxiety on God with great confidence, and say with the psalmist, I am yours, Lord; save me" (St. Francis de Sales).

He will.

Originally posted 8 October 2019