My husband and I have seven children and eight grandchildren. As I write this, eight of those people live in our house and two more are visiting. That means there are routinely 10 mouths to feed and I have to cook dinner for 12 tonight. And the Lord says, “Do not worry and say, ‘What are we to eat?’” Does that mean I don’t need to make a plan for that? “All these things the pagans seek.” Am I some kind of pagan if I am concerned about having enough groceries for all these people?
No. Jesus clarifies all this when he says, “seek FIRST the Kingdom of God and His righteousness… Do not WORRY about tomorrow.” It is not a call to be irresponsible, but to continuously remember that God is primary, that His great love should be our great concern, and that He never pauses His care for us! Our own plans are not guaranteed to succeed, but God’s Plan for our true good, our every good, our eternal good, is always successful. He created us with a Purpose and a Plan. We are not random or useless or unimportant to Him. We come from Love, we are returning to Love, and Love is rescuing us every step of the way. So we need not worry, even as we work to provide.
The focus and dynamic of the life of a Carthusian monk is different from a young man in college, which is different from that of a bishop, or a mom of seven and grandmother of eight. Each of our lives has its own concerns and dynamics which are proper to it. Today’s readings remind us that we cannot expect God to bless our lives or our plans when they go against His will. But when we align our whole being with the generous will of God, He will help us see the needs and concerns proper to our particular life and submit all to Him in loving trust.
When we try to make all our own arrangements and provide for all our own needs and wants, we will always be disappointed, because no matter how rich we are, we find ourselves too poor. But if we love the Lord first and make trust in Him the rule of our lives, allowing His plan to guide us as we work to meet our true needs, we will always find ourselves rich in the things that matter!
This trust in the merciful love of God makes it easy for us to be faithful to Him, to be generous with our goods and ourselves, and to offer our very lives to Him in gratitude. This is to live a Eucharistic life – a life of thanksgiving and praise to the God who knows all our needs and cares for us even better than we know how to care for ourselves.
As my husband often says, “We don’t have much in the bank, but we are very, very rich.”
Mi esposo y yo tenemos siete hijos y ocho nietos. Mientras escribo esto, ocho de esas personas viven en nuestra casa y dos más están de visita. Eso significa que habitualmente hay 10 bocas que alimentar y esta noche tengo que preparar la cena para 12. Y el Señor dice: “No se inquieten, pues, pensando: ‘¿Qué comeremos…?’”. ¿Eso significa que no necesito hacer un plan para eso? “Los que no conocen a Dios se desviven por todas estas cosas”. ¿Soy una especie de pagano si me preocupa tener suficientes alimentos para toda esta gente?
No. Jesús aclara todo esto cuando dice: “busquen primero el Reino de Dios…No se preocupen por el día de mañana”. No es un llamado a ser irresponsables, sino a recordar continuamente que Dios es primordial, que Su gran amor debe ser nuestra gran preocupación, ¡y que Él nunca deja de cuidarnos! Nuestros propios planes no tienen garantía de éxito, pero el Plan de Dios para nuestro verdadero bien, cada bien nuestro, nuestro bien eterno, siempre tiene éxito. Él nos creó con un Propósito y un Plan. No somos aleatorios, inútiles o carentes de importancia para Él. Venimos del Amor, al Amor estamos regresando y el Amor nos está rescatando en cada paso del camino. Así que no debemos preocuparnos, incluso mientras trabajamos para poder proveer.
El enfoque y la dinámica de la vida de un monje cartujo es diferente a la de un joven en la universidad, que es diferente a la de un obispo, o a la de una madre de siete hijos y abuela de ocho. Cada una de nuestras vidas tiene sus preocupaciones y dinámicas que le son propias. Las lecturas de hoy nos recuerdan que no podemos esperar que Dios bendiga nuestras vidas o nuestros planes cuando van en contra de Su voluntad. Pero cuando alineamos todo nuestro ser con la generosa voluntad de Dios, Él nos ayudará a ver las necesidades e inquietudes propias de nuestra vida particular y a someterlo todo a Él con amorosa confianza.
Cuando intentamos hacer todos nuestros propios arreglos y satisfacer todas nuestras necesidades y deseos, siempre nos sentiremos decepcionados, porque no importa cuán ricos seamos, nos encontramos demasiado pobres. Pero si amamos al Señor primero y hacemos de la confianza en Él la regla de nuestras vidas, permitiendo que Su plan nos guíe mientras trabajamos para satisfacer nuestras verdaderas necesidades, ¡siempre nos encontraremos ricos en las cosas que importan!
Esta confianza en el amor misericordioso de Dios nos facilita serle fiel, generoso con los bienes propios y con nosotros mismos, y ofrecerle la propia vida en gratitud. Esto es vivir una vida eucarística: una vida de acción de gracias y alabanza al Dios que conoce todas nuestras necesidades y nos cuida incluso mejor de lo que sabemos cuidar a nosotros mismos.
Como suele decir mi esposo: “No tenemos mucho en el banco, pero somos muy, muy ricos”.
Kathryn Mulderink, MA, is married to Robert, Station Manager for Holy Family Radio. Together they have seven children (including Father Rob), and eight grandchildren. She is President of the local community of Secular Discalced Carmelites and has published five books and many articles. Over the last 30 years, she has worked as a teacher, headmistress, catechist, Pastoral Associate, and DRE, and as a writer and voice talent for Catholic Radio. Currently, she serves the Church by writing and speaking, and by collaborating with various parishes and to lead others to encounter Christ and engage their faith. Her website is www.KathrynTherese.com
Feature Image Credit: JillWellington, pixabay.com/photos/little-girl-running-daisies-nature-795505/
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