What if some of our anxiety comes from trying to carry a future God never asked us to carry?
Nearly 800 years ago, Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274), one of the most influential theologians in Christian history, wrote profoundly about fear, sorrow, hope, peace, and what he called pusillanimitas—a “smallness of soul” that shrinks back from the good we were created and called to pursue. His writings helped shape centuries of Christian thought and still offer surprising insight into the struggles we face today.
We use modern terms such as rumination, hypervigilance, avoidance, and intolerance of uncertainty to describe the experience of anxiety. Aquinas approached many of these same struggles from another direction: What happens when fear of the future begins to constrict the soul, diminish hope, and keep us from moving toward the life God has called us to live?
His answer is not simply “stop worrying.” It is an invitation to recover hope, courage, proper spiritual order, and trust in divine providence—to faithfully live what God has given us today while returning tomorrow to Him.
You were never meant to carry tomorrow. But your calling is much bigger than you think.
Study Notes PDF — Anxiety of the Soul with St. Thomas Aquinas
Your Turn to Talk!
Let us know what you think in the comments section.
What anxieties are you carrying that God may not be asking you to carry?
How does Thomas Aquinas’s idea of smallness of soul speak to your experience of fear or hesitation?
What practice helps you receive God’s peace when the future feels overwhelming?
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