Fr. Dwight Longenecker on Ways to Stop Worrying

"Like most people, my world has been thrown into a spin with the pandemic. I am very disturbed at the total lockdown of the sacraments. I can understand stopping public church services, but eliminating all sacraments - even private visits to homes or private confessions seems very draconian. However, with so much that is uncertain about the virus, I can understand that all leaders wish to err on the side of caution. Most people reacted at first by denying there was a major problem. That's natural. It was my reaction too. We have yet to see just how major the problem is, but better safe than sorry.

"Having our world turned upside down with a pandemic is bound to make people worry. We worry about our own health. Will we get sick? Will it be serious? Will we die? If we are elderly or have underlying health concerns the worries increase. Then we worry about our loved ones. If we have elderly friends and family members we worry about them. Then there is the larger scale of concern. Will the health care system break down? What if this goes on far longer than they think and there is social breakdown? What will happen if the infrastructure and systems begin to crumble? What if there is total economic burnout?

"All of these worries and more are bound to hit us. So what can you do to stop worrying? . . ."

In a recent commentary, Father Dwight Longenecker (parish priest at Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic Church, Greenville, SC) reflected on a number of steps we can take to lessen our worrying, including not getting caught up in a bad news tailspin (check the news, weigh the good news with the bad news, and don't keep checking the news channels every few minutes), pray the news (after getting your news update, take it to the Lord in prayer), taking one day at a time, and reaching out to others.

To access Fr. Longenecker’s complete post, please visit:

Fr. Dwight Longenecker: Ten Ways to Stop Worrying (31 MAR 20)

Background information:

Dwight Longenecker - Catholic priest and author