Thursday, November 14, 2013

Mary TV Daily Reflection 11/14/2013


Flowers on Krizavec

(c)Mary TV 2013

J.M.J.    
November 14, 2013

Dear Family of Mary!

"Dear children...As a mother I desire that through the love for the Heavenly Father, you may be raised above earthly vanities, and may help others to gradually come to know, and come closer to the Heavenly Father..." (November 2, 2013)

What are earthly vanities? I think of them as those fussy little things that keep our attention focused on ourselves, things that occupy our time but are totally self-centered. The way we dress, our hair style, what we eat, who we know, how much money we make, our professional position, our degrees, our awards, our accomplishments. I guess you could say that these things are neutral, but they can obsess us and begin to feed our pride, which is a sin. And there are the other cardinal sins that they feed as well, gluttony, avarice, lust, envy, sloth, and anger. All these sins circle around the planet of our pride and our self-absorption, and feed it with ill-gotten gain. Earthly vanities lead to sin, they lead away from God.

Amazingly, Our Lady tells us what will lift us out of this mire. Love for the Heavenly Father can pull us out of these destructive behaviors like a hot-air balloon lifts us off the ground and over all sorts of terrain. Love for the Heavenly Father cures us of our self-absorption. It turns our eyes outward, and frees us from the need to build our own kingdom. We come in contact with a Kingdom that is so much more grand and beautiful than our own could ever be, and we just let go of it all, grasping that hot-air balloon and ascending into a new creation.

No wonder she has asked us to pray Matthew 6: 24-34 every Thursday! To live this Scripture is to rise above earthly vanities. It is to totally trust the Heavenly Father to supply all our needs. And when we do that, He comes through so magnificently that we fall deeply in love with Him.

Today, let's prayerfully read Matthew 6:24-34, receiving the grace to rise above all earthly vanities:

"No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.  You cannot serve God and mammon.

"Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink, nor about your body, what you shall put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add one cubit to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin; yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O men of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, `What shall we eat?' or `What shall we drink?' or `What shall we wear?' For the Gentiles seek all these things; and 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.

"Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Let the day's own trouble be sufficient for the day." (Mt 6: 24-34)

"Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all." If we believe these words, then we will be able to release all our anxieties and earthly vanities into His hands. We will be able to entrust ourselves to Him. And we will be able to put Him first in all things. Finally, we will learn to love Him deeply because He is our Father, the best of Fathers, who provides for us in abundance.

In Jesus, Mary and Joseph!
Cathy Nolan
©Mary TV 2013


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