From the Gospel according to Matthew 6:24-34
Jesus said to his disciples:
“No one can serve two masters.
He will either hate one and love the other,
or be devoted to one and despise the other.
You cannot serve God and mammon.
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life,
what you will eat or drink,
or about your body, what you will wear.
Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?
Look at the birds in the sky;
they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns,
yet your heavenly Father feeds them.
Are not you more important than they?
Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your life-span?
Why are you anxious about clothes?
Learn from the way the wild flowers grow.
They do not work or spin.
But I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor
was clothed like one of them.
If God so clothes the grass of the field,
which grows today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow,
will he not much more provide for you, O you of little faith?
So do not worry and say, ‘What are we to eat?’
or ‘What are we to drink?’ or ‘What are we to wear?’
All these things the pagans seek.
Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.
But seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness,
and all these things will be given you besides.
Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself.
Sufficient for a day is its own evil.”
Let Yourself Be Cared For
With infinite tenderness, You speak to us of the Father’s care: how He feeds the little birds of the sky. And You ask us: if He takes care of them, how could He not take care of us, who are worth infinitely more?
And yet, we live as if we were orphans. We wear ourselves out, inside and out, trying to secure material goods in which we place our trust, our security, and our hope. We want to have everything under control, and in doing so, we do not allow God to be God, or to be Father. He desires to care for us, to feed us, to clothe us, and to provide for us in everything.
My Jesus, Your Heart burns to lead us to the Truth and free us from the lies of the devil, lies into which we so often fall. We believe we are alone, abandoned in the world, as if everything depended solely on us. We think, “If I don’t take care of myself, who will?” And thus, we forget that we are children, called to live with full trust in our Heavenly Father, who never leaves us.
Applied to Married Life:
Rocío: Juanfran! Dinner’s ready!
Juanfran (from his office): Let me finish this and I’ll be right up.
Rocío: (ten minutes later) Juanfran!
Juanfran: (enters the kitchen) Rocío, I was going over the finances and it looks like we might not make it through the month. I’m a bit overwhelmed.
Rocío: I love how you take care of the family and how responsible you are, how you give yourself for us. Come on, have dinner, and then we’ll pray. You’ll see how the Lord gives you His Peace.
(After dinner, during couple prayer)
Juanfran: My goodness, Rocío, it feels like today’s Gospel was written just for us. Incredible! I felt so much peace seeing that the Lord takes care of us, feeds us, clothes us, and gives us drink. What an amazing Father we have!
Rocío: Of course, Juanfran. The Lord has always fed us, given us drink, clothed us. We’ve never lacked anything. And remember, when we’ve gone through hard times, that’s when we’ve been the most united. Don’t you realize we already have what’s most important?
Juanfran: You’re right, Rocío. You know since we joined Proyecto, I’ve grown a lot… but this month I don’t know what happened. Lord, I’m not afraid—You take care of us, You will sustain us.
Rocío: Oh, my love, I’m so proud of you!
Juanfran: Lord, You served only Your Father, doing His Will. You carried no bag, no money. Humble. Simple. And You are God. I offer You my work—do with it whatever You will.
Rocío: Thank You, Lord, for giving me a husband so beautiful inside and out.
Mother,
May we never serve money, but always serve God. May we always abandon ourselves into His Hands with trust. Protect us from greed. From avarice. Oh Blessed Mother, pour out Your graces upon us! Praised be the Lord.