"Do not worry about your life."

Easier said than done, even in the feline world.  John and I are serving staff to four cats, one of whom is an 11-month old kitten named Espy.  Espy is a worrier.  She worries about food.  It's funny that her name is "Espy," short for Esperanza - hope.  We must put her in a big cage at mealtimes or she will eat everyone's food even before the dishes hit the floor.  Right before she gets her dish she literally crawls up the side of the cage and mews loudly: 

Espy in a pre-meal frenzy

      "Am I going to get any food?"

      "Am I going to get enough?"

      "Can't she dish it out any faster? Let me do it!  I                            can do it the right way!"

       "What if he forgets me?"

       "Are Charlotte, Ricky and Target getting more than                     me?"

Worrying so often seems just a part of life as we struggle and plot to meet the challenges, difficulties and endless uncertainties that are a part of any life.  I think we might feel and even look like little Espy before her meals!  It's tough to stop the head from spinning and I think the Evil One loves this about us and encourages it because worry can put a great gulf between us and God.

Jesus hits the condition of worrying head-on.   He reminds us of our value, in fact, the value of all life, not just human life.  He gives us a caution about what we are to strive - God's kingdom.  God knows what we really need. 

      Don't rely on yourself - rely on God.

But it seems impossible to will our worries away.  They can come as natural and habitual as breathing. How can we keep our worries from ruling our hearts and minds?

Catherine of Seina gives us a way.  In 1370 she wrote The Dialogue, a dialog between the "Eternal Father" (God the Father) and "a human soul" (St. Catherine).  In it, the Eternal Father describes, through many different analogies, allegories, and metaphors, the spiritual life of humankind.   She offers us this image to move away from our worries -

                Christ is a bridge to cross the flood of life so that we won't drown.

Catherine writes that God joined God's divinity with human nature to rebuild the road between heaven and earth.  But God says, "Be clear about this: in order for you to have life, it is not enough that I have built this bridge.  You must walk across it."  We have a choice.  There is the way of the raging river.  There is the way of the bridge that is Christ. 

We can resist crossing the bridge of Christ over our troubles I think because being in the raging river is more familiar to us.  To step on the bridge is to turn the process of dealing with a situation to Christ, to his path.  We can be very reluctant to do this because we don't know what will happen (Like we think that going it on our own will ensure the outcome we want??)  Catherine speaks for us,

"How strange it is that despite the trust I profess, I still so often prefer to take the harder path, battling dangerous currents, risking shoals rather than crossing by the bridge you have made for me.  Point out the bridge to me again."                                 

A Meditation on Christ our Bridge - Reflect as You Read

What is the raging river you stand before today?  Where are you worrying or are fearful or wish things to be different?  The size of the river isn't the issue.  Name this to yourself.

What is the look of that river?  Picture this or hear it.

What do you feel like looking at this river or pondering crossing this alone?

As you look at the river you see something else; a bridge.  The bridge of Christ.  Look again. 

Take his outstretched hand and step onto the bridge. 

Quotes drawn from Set Aside Every Fear: 

Love and Trust in the Spirituality of Catherine of Siena

John Kirvan