Pray, Hope and Don’t Worry: Parenting Advice from St. Padre Pio

I wrote a post recently on my blog where I disclosed the full details of my ongoing pregnancy. It took a while for me to write it, as my husband and I had agreed to wait until further tests were done.

To make a long story short, our baby was seen to have “nuchal translucency,” which CAN be an indicator of chromosomal conditions, usually Down Syndrome, BUT only if it’s significantly thick. So far, my ob-gyne does not seem worried about it, so we’re claiming the best news for us. We are currently waiting for our little one — our third child — to grow a little bit bigger and then we may go for a congenital anomaly scan, to see if there is really anything to be worried about.

“Anything to be worried about…” is a funny thing to say because, up to the point that I published my blog post (which I chose to title, “The Truth About My Pregnancy {And a Request for Prayers}), I have been doing my best not to worry.

You see, ever since I can remember, I’ve been a worrywart. I’d like to believe I’ve improved vastly in that aspect ever since I’ve come to have a personal relationship with Jesus and have grown in faith, but the human side of me sometimes still comes out. Especially the human mommy side!

However, ever since I published my “tell-all” blog post, I have been reminded about the meaninglessness of worrying. People everywhere — including complete strangers! — have been leaving comments on my blog and on Facebook, sending tweets, emails and text messages, just to tell me that they are praying for our family, especially our baby.

Many people have also come forward to share stories of people they personally know who have had similar experiences, some of whom were even advised to abort their babies because they were “not normal,” according to medical scans and tests. These parents are based in developed countries like the USA, the UK and Australia. They chose not to do so — they chose life! — and their children turned out perfectly healthy! Imagine if they had chosen to “get rid” of their little ones!

The overwhelming show of support, prayers, love and concern for our family, especially for our little baby in my womb (thank you, everyone!), has become a reason for me to adopt the wise words of St. Padre Pio of Petrelcina, who also interceded powerfully for my sister. (I wrote about how he did so in my post here if you want to read it. Basically, my sister conceived a “miracle baby” after almost 11 long years of waiting, without any medical intervention.)

And what exactly are St. Pio’s words?

Pray, hope and don’t worry.

In an article on Catholic.net, it is said that these words were St. Pio’s “prescription for eternal health.” Many people would come to him with every manner of trouble, and he would simply say, “Pray, hope and don’t worry.”

Someone told me the same thing in a Facebook message to me the other day, in relation to my pregnancy blog post. And these words have stuck with me ever since.

If you’re a parent and you’re reading this, you may say, “But we can’t help worrying! Especially when it comes to our children.”

Believe me, I can relate. I remember when we were still based in Timor Leste, a more “underdeveloped” or “backward” country compared to the Philippines. I’d worry about our kids almost every day.

I’d worry that the mosquitoes flying around in our bedroom, sala and veranda would bite them and they’d get malaria or dengue or some other dreaded disease. I’d worry whenever the electricity would go out — that our baby would feel too hot or uncomfortable. I worried excessively when both kids, after being born, were confined for jaundice — that the Cuban doctors and Timorese nurses were inexperienced and were not as knowledgeable as their counterparts elsewhere, like in the Philippines.

Yes, I worried a lot. I still do.

But right now, as I write this, I am choosing not to. I choose to live by the words of St. Padre Pio — probably the wisest words anyone could ever say to a parent. Especially to a parent like me.

Pray, hope and don’t worry.

We’ll all be the better for it, don’t you think?