10/04/26 Blind Spots: Worry

October 5, 2026

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5 min read

When Worry Becomes a Blind Spot

Father Mike Schmitz opens with a striking comparison: Timon and Pumbaa from The Lion King singing "Hakuna Matata" to a traumatized young lion whose uncle murdered his father and stole his kingdom. Their advice—just don't worry about it—is not wisdom. It is a shallow evasion. And yet, many of us treat worry the same way Saint Paul treats it when he writes "have no anxiety at all," as if he were simply saying "stop caring." That is not what Paul means, and getting the distinction right matters.

The Difference Between Concern and Worry

Father Mike draws a careful line. Clinical anxiety is not a sin—it is a medical condition, like cancer or a broken leg. A high-strung temperament, which 13–15 percent of people are born with, is also not a sin. Even the emotion of worry or nervousness is not itself sinful. The problem emerges when worry becomes the background noise of our lives, an acceptable sin we no longer notice.

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What you'll learn

1 (02:08) **Opening Story: The Lion King as a Parable of False Comfort** - Fr. Mike retells the tragic story of Simba from The Lion King to illustrate how “hakuna matata” is a shallow response to deep grief.
2 (04:36) **The Prevalence of Worry and the Three Kinds of Anxiety** - Fr. Mike cites studies showing clinical anxiety has surpassed depression as the #1 medical illness among college students.
3 (06:18) **Introducing the Blind Spot: The Sin of Worry** - Fr. Mike frames worry as an “acceptable sin” from Psalm 19—a hidden fault we excuse and therefore cannot repent of.
4 (07:28) **Saint Paul’s Paradox: Concern vs. Worry** - Fr. Mike resolves the apparent contradiction of Saint Paul commanding “have no anxiety” while also expressing his own anxiety for the churches.
5 (10:00) **The Critical Distinction: Concern Asks “What Can I Do?”; Worry Asks “What If?”** - Fr. Mike deepens the distinction, arguing that more worry does not mean more love.
6 (11:29) **Real-World Application: The “Next Right Thing” Principle** - Fr. Mike shares a conversation with Tracy Kojeski Korea, an engineer who leads a disaster response team at Notre Dame.
7 (14:38) **The Three Lies of Worry: Necessary, Useful, and Safe** - Fr. Mike identifies the three core lies that make worry a blind spot.

+ Full timestamped outline available in the app

Show Notes

Homily from the Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Concern asks, "What can I do?" Worry asks, "What if?"

Worry can feel useful, responsible, even protective. But it keeps us rehearsing futures we cannot control. Concern moves us toward the next right thing. We can do what is ours to do, give God what we cannot control, and choose hope: not because we know what tomorrow holds, but because we know that God will be there.

Mass Readings from October 4, 2026: Isaiah 5:1-7 Psalm 80:9, 12-16, 19-20Philippians 4:6-9

Matthew 21:33-43