Saint Francis de Sales Made Me Anxious 

Though she didn’t choose him as her confirmation patron, Saint Francis de Sales had a lesson to teach Maura Gentry about anxiety.  

I was confirmed on April 18, 2016. I chose Saint John Paul II as my confirmation saint, but there had been another saint closely in the running, Saint Francis de Sales. John Paul II captured my heart with his love for young people and for Mary, but Saint Francis is the patron saint of writers, and I knew that I was going to study English in college with the hopes of continuing to improve my writing skills. When I read Saint Francis’ teachings on anxiety, though, I knew that I couldn’t choose him.   

A year earlier, my sophomore year in high school, I had begun having panic attacks seemingly out of the blue. They would even come in the middle of the school day sometimes, and I would flee whatever classroom I was in for the school office, always met with the caring and concerned faces of administrators who would help me calm my breathing and in turn, my mind.  

The Words of Saint Francis de Sales on Anxiety   

When I read that Saint Francis wrote about anxiety, I felt judged, rather than encouraged by his words. Here are two of the most “offensive” quotes to my teenage heart:   

Anxiety is the greatest evil that can befall a soul, except sin. God commands you to pray, but he forbids you to worry. 

Do not look forward to what may happen tomorrow; the same everlasting Father who cares for you today will take care of you tomorrow and every day. Either He will shield you from suffering, or He will give you unfailing strength to bear it. Be at peace, then, put aside all anxious thoughts and imaginations, and say continually: "The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart has trusted in Him, and I am helped. He is not only with me but in me and I in Him." (Introduction to the Devout Life)

Amid sometimes crippling anxiety, I didn’t understand how God could be forbidding me to experience something that I didn’t have control over. In time, of course, and with therapy and prayer, I learned how to better quell panic attacks when the feeling rose within me. But it wasn’t until much later that I went back to learn what Saint Francis truly meant. Of course I wasn’t being condemned for my mental illness. I knew that at the time, but I knew that I was missing something important in Saint Francis’ teaching.   

An Invitation to Deeper Understanding   

As it turns out, just a couple of years before I received the sacrament of confirmation, my husband, unbeknownst to me, had been confirmed two hours away from my hometown. His choice of confirmation saint? Saint Francis de Sales, of course.   

When we got married, we created a list of saints that would guide our family we had begun to create. We naturally included our confirmation saints, along with saints who had been instrumental in our relationship: Saint Margaret of Scotland, Saint Joseph, Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, and Saint Josemaría Escrivá.   

Praying together for the intercession of Saint Francis de Sales overtime led me to desire a deeper understanding of his teachings. I had still harbored an appreciation for him as the patron saint of writers — but kept a safe distance because of my misunderstanding.   

One of the definitions of anxiety, according to Merriam Webster, is “a strong desire sometimes mixed with doubt, fear, or uneasiness.” This gets closer to the heart of what Saint Francis is referring to when he uses the term “anxiety.”   

Looking further at his Introduction to the Devout Life, St. Francis says:

Anxiety arises from an unregulated desire to be delivered from any pressing evil, or to obtain some hoped-for good.…Therefore, whensoever you urgently desire to be delivered from any evil, or to attain some good thing, strive above all else to keep a calm, restful spirit, steady your judgement and will, and then go quietly and easily after your object, taking all fitting means to attain thereto. By easily, I do not mean carelessly, but without eagerness, disquietude, or anxiety. (Part 4, Chapter 11, emphasis mine) 

An unregulated desire. We are not asked to never feel nervousness or frustration or fear. We are asked, however, to ensure that we are not ruled by these feelings. Looking back at my younger self, I can see that even if I would have come across an explanation of Saint Francis’ teachings on anxiety, I was not ready for it. He didn’t give up on me, though.  

Now I see that though I cannot control my tendency toward anxiety, I can choose how I treat those thoughts and emotions. Do I strive to steady my judgment rather than letting myself spiral? Do I go quietly and easily after my object, rather than letting it consume my every moment?   

Though I didn’t choose him as my confirmation saint, Saint Francis de Sales stayed after my heart, and I’m so glad that he did.  

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Copyright 2025 Maura Gentry
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