Daily Scripture Reflection & Prayer: June 21, 2025

Date: Memorial of St. Aloysius Gonzaga

Scripture Text:  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 lifespan? Why are you anxious about clothes? Learn from the way the wildflowers 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.”

Breaking the text open – background and summary:

Today’s gospel continues our reading of Jesus’ “Sermon on the Mount” as recorded in Matthew. Jesus begins by teaching us that we must focus on our relationship with our Almighty Father as our priority in life rather than on earthy endeavors. Then Jesus teaches us that worrying does not add a moment to our lives. Jesus isn’t suggesting that we can or should be idle. He isn’t suggesting “entitlement” as a way of life, but rather that we rely upon the LORD’s deep and powerful love for us.

Meditating on the text with personal questions:

Am I a worrier? How is that working out? Am I reliant on the LORD or do I insist on “independence”?

Praying:

LORD, Almighty Father, always and everywhere your love for us exists. Your only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ, your Word expressed in our midst revealed your love for us, nowhere more powerfully than on the cross at Calvary. Send your Spirit to stir within us, to strengthen our innate craving for life with You. Grant that we may put down the human tendency to worry and pick up instead the hopeful reliance upon our all-present and loving Father. We ask this in the name of your Son, Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with You and the Spirit, one LORD, forever and ever. Amen.