Gospel – 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.”
The Catechism of the Catholic Church
2113 Idolatry not only refers to false pagan worship. It remains a constant temptation to faith. Idolatry consists in divinizing what is not God. Man commits idolatry whenever he honors and reveres a creature in place of God, whether this be gods or demons (for example, satanism), power, pleasure, race, ancestors, the state, money, etc. Jesus says, “You cannot serve God and mammon.” Many martyrs died for not adoring “the Beast” refusing even to simulate such worship. Idolatry rejects the unique Lordship of God; it is therefore incompatible with communion with God.
305 Jesus asks for childlike abandonment to the providence of our heavenly Father who takes care of his children’s smallest needs: “Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?.’… Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well.”
From “The Great Crusade of Salvation” Testimony of Catalina Rivas (CS-110:1)
1) My little one, do not trust at all in yourself, and expect nothing from your meager resources. Then I will help you, because if you are empty of yourself, it is possible for Me to fill you with Myself.
From “The Great Crusade of Mercy” Testimony of Catalina Rivas (CM-6:6,7 CM10:10,11)
6) Understand that the independent state of your souls is not the freedom that you possess. Freedom exists only when the soul is totally dependent on God; therein lies its strength and power. There am I in the peaceful depths of your souls waiting for you to surrender yourselves. 7) This freedom is only found through discipline, through obedience to Me. Seek first to do My Will, being blind to the worldly path, denying yourselves, so that I may cleanse you and renew you. Then you will be able to live in the world, free and intact, in purity of mind and soul.
10) I am the answer and this answer comes through the Word. To seek first and foremost the Kingdom of God means to seek first of all the King of Kings. Every king exercises his reign through his proclamations, his rules, and his laws. As King, I exercise My reign over you through My Word whereby I tell you what you must and must not do.
11) Run, My daughters, there is still time to save your families. Run! Do not waste even a single day more. Run to Mass and take part in that encounter with Me in the Eucharist. Pray every day; unite yourselves with My Mother in the Holy Rosary, the prayer through which you unite yourselves with Me through the best wife and mother that there ever was in the history of humanity: Mary.
Each week we will be presenting a portion of the following Sunday’s readings, and linking it to relevant parts of the Catechism of the Catholic Church and messages from the Testimony of Catalina. Pay special attention to the italicized underlined sections. We hope this is inspiring and educational. Any comments you have are certainly welcomed.
Tim Francis prepared this educational program to help you increase your faith and love for the Holy Trinity and our Blessed Mother. His website is http://YouShallBelieve.com
I have known Tim for many years and recommend his work highly. He is a strong advocate for the “The Real Body and Blood Of Jesus” and the numerous miracles that occur on a daily basis. Both of us are greatly inspired by the amazing writings of Catalina Rivas. Catalina is one of the few individuals in history who personally experienced the “Stigmata Of Jesus Christ.”