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There is an activity that has the power to steal our

sleep and even shorten our life, yet we still do it. What

is this activity? Worry.

We spend sleepless nights worrying about our

finances, jobs, children, pets, health, etc. There are,

however, some people who tend to suffer more than

the rest of us. They have the unfortunate gift of finding

the worst ever possible scenarios for every happening.

I did a search for the word history of worry with the

help of Mr Google. I found an article that interestingly

states the following:

“Worrying may shorten one's life, but not as

quickly as it once did. The ancestor of our word, Old

English wyrgan, meant "to strangle." Its Middle

English descendant, worien, kept this sense and

developed the new sense "to grasp by the throat with

the teeth and lacerate" or "to kill or injure by biting and

shaking." This is the way wolves or dogs might attack

sheep, for example. In the 16th century worry began

to be used in the sense "to harass, as by rough

treatment or attack," or "to assault verbally," and in the

17th century the word took on the sense "to bother,

distress, or persecute." It was a small step from this

sense to the main modern senses "to cause to feel

anxious or distressed" and "to feel troubled or

uneasy," first recorded in the 19th century.”

(from The Free Dictionary.Com )

St. Padre Pio gave a very simple advice: “Pray, hope

and don’t worry.” Don’t worry because it strangles us

and leaves us more vulnerable and helpless.

I remembered once a missionary told me a story

regarding an elderly lady in her mother’s village. When

told about the news that war was soon approaching,

the lady worried so much that she had a heart attack

and died. The war, however, did not even take place.

The villagers lived peacefully, and life went on as

usual.

Instead of worrying excessively, shouldn’t we take St

Padre Pio’s advice, “Pray, hope and don’t worry”?

I chanced upon a rather inspiring writing that goes

like this:

There are two days in every week about which we

should not worry, two days which should be kept free

from fear and apprehension. One of these days is

Yesterday with all its mistakes and cares,

its faults and blunders, its aches and pains.

Yesterday has passed forever beyond our control.

All the money in the world cannot bring back

Yesterday. We cannot undo a single act we

performed; we cannot erase a single word we said.

Yesterday is gone forever.

The other day we should not worry about is

Tomorrow with all its possible adversities, its

burdens, its large promise and its poor performance;

Tomorrow is also beyond our immediate

control. Tomorrow's sun will rise, either in splendour

or behind a mask of clouds, but it will rise. Until it

does, we have no stake in Tomorrow,

for it is yet to be born.

This leaves only one day, Today.

Any person can fight the battle of just one day. It is

when you and I add the burdens of those two awful

eternities Yesterday and Tomorrow that we break

down. It is not the experience of Today that drives a

person mad, it is the remorse or bitterness of

something which happened Yesterday and the dread

of what Tomorrow may bring.

Let us, therefore, Live but one day at a time.

One day at a time…let us choose to live one day at a

time. We pray to God to give us the strength to bear

the burdens of today. We carry in our hearts the

stubborn hope that pulls us to live and not give up!

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September 2014

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Sorting and pricing of items on the eve of sale

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Reading the clue that would lead to the next destination

Group selfies

The winners!

Charis Board Members & Associates Retreat

@ Choice Retreat Centre 27th -28th September

Leticia helped out and gave a session on Missionary spirituality to the members of the Caritas Humanitarian Aid and Relief Initiatives

(Charis).

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