(c)Mary TV 2013
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
"Medjugorje is the spiritual center of the world!"
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