MASS READINGS:

Gospel Mt 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."

REFLECTION:

I have fond memories of my mother teaching me how to sew on an old Singer sewing machine. She taught me about selvages and cutting the fabric on the grain. She showed me how to make a seam and hand sew a hem. There was a lot of satisfaction working toward something useful and practical. Our clothing is important to us just as food and shelter, so we spend a lot of time working toward acquiring these things. However, do we spend time praying, trusting and thanking God for providing us everything we need?

As a young mother, God gave my husband and I four children in the span of six years. Many times, I had to remember this verse to get through the month: “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." This was my favorite verse in the bible. It was also the rock I needed to stand on to know how God provides for those who seek him. I often looked at the birds in the sky to remind me how God is faithful and will provide for my family. I looked at his creation of beautiful plants and flowers to be reminded of the goodness of his handiwork. I always found comfort through these reminders.

To seek the kingdom of God we must work toward being a part of it through prayer. We should live to please the Lord, thanking him for the good and bad. When I wanted something I didn’t have, I used to remind myself it was not needed for living in God’s kingdom. We should ask ourselves, are the things we worry about really needed to live in the Kingdom of God? Also, do we have control over our troubles or have we given them to God? God is the ruler and king over his kingdom. Our heavenly father knows what we need. Pray, grow in your faith and everything you need will be given to you.