Pray, Hope and Don't Worry

'Pray, Hope and Don't Worry' is a quote from St Pio of Pietrelcina. It is a bit of a slogan used bythe Capuchin Friars. Afterall, St Pio was a Capuchin Friar himself. Many years ago the Capuchins in Ireland got wristbands made with this slogan on it. I was sent a wristband at the time by a Capuchin buddy. I can almost always be seen wearing it. 

When I look at the wristband or think of the slogan, 'Pray, Hope and Don't Worry' I often remember an encounter one night at scouts years ago and smile to myself. One night in the middle of our meeting one of the boys told me that I should do what my wristband said, 'Pray, Hope and Don't Worry'. He said this out of nowhere, I was not stressing at the time. I was taken aback that somebody, a child, at a non religious event took notice of the simple wristband that I was wearing. I didn't think that people actually noticed what wristbands said. From this brief encounter I truly believe that we can easily have an impact on a persons life by what we wear. Had we not been in the middle of an activity at the time this could have been a great opportunity for me to speak to the young lad about the slogan on the wristband.

'Pray, Hope and Don't Worry', do I live by this slogan or is it just another wristband for me to wear? The wristband is very important to me. When my first one snapped I reached out to a friar to see if he had any more. He was vocations director for the Order at the time and these wristbands were part of a vocations initiative. The friar sent me two. But I do not feel that I always live by the slogan. Yes, I always pray but in the modern world it can be hard to have hope when there is so much war and violence in the world. And it can be difficult not to worry about different events going on in our lives, big or small. However, as Christians we need to trust in God. We are called to 'Pray, Hope and Don't Worry' by trusting in God. Place your worries under the pillow of sleeping St Joseph or bring your worries to prayer and hand them to God directly. Worrying does not achieve anything in life, it is wasting energy. To worry is to not live our best lives as our energy is wasted worrying rather than being put to good use. When we are worried we are so preoccupied by what we are worrying about we miss the good things in life. Worrying about what has happened in the past is useless for we cannot change what has happened. Worrying about what might happen in the future is useless because we do not know what will happen in the future. We need to live in the present, not worrying about what is going on now but taking action to influence what happens in our lives. Life is too short to get bogged down in worry. If you find yourself in a state of anxiety, acknowledge it and take steps to deal with your anxiety to overcome it rather than get bogged down in it. The earlier you catch yourself in a 'low' the easier it will be to come out of it. 

If we don't have hope in life our lives will be miserable. We can have hope while remaining in touch with reality. I can be optimistic that x will happen but I also need to appreciate that x might not happen. If I appreciate that x might not happen I will not be too disappointed if it does not happen. Be a glass half full kind of person. Don't look at something not turning out the way you wanted as failure but as an opportunity to grow, Can I do something differently to get the outcome I desire? Or maybe a certain thing did not work out the way I would have liked because God has a plan and it has worked out how God wanted. In this incidence we need to trust God. You might not understand straight away what God's plan is but trust that His plan will be revealed to you in time. Remember that our time and God's time is different.  All will be well in the end. If all is not well it is not the end. 

So remember, 'Pray, Hope and Don't Worry'. Trust in God and hope will be part of your life. Turn to God in times of trouble and let Him hold your worry. Pray.