Word to the Wise
Saturday, June 21, 2025 - Saturday in the 11th Week in Ordinary Time
[2 Cor 12:1-10 and Matt 6:24-34]"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." [Matthew]
JUNE 21 ST. ALOYSIUS GONZAGA, SJ
One of the great songs of the Broadway musical ANNIE is called, "Tomorrow!" There is a refrain in it that goes: "Tomorrow, tomorrow! I love ya, tomorrow. You're always a day away!" But Jesus commands us not to worry about "tomorrow!" A spiritual directee of mine once quoted a colleague as saying, "Nobody is guaranteed a tomorrow!" But the virtue of HOPE for many people is focused on the possibility of a time better than the one they are living in! It can be depressing to think that "tomorrow" is not better than "today" if "today" is awful!
Living fully in the "present" is what Jesus challenges us to do. Our every breath is a gift from God. Future security can be an illusion when one is not certain one can make it through the current day! Jesus offers a way to "make it through the day!" Living discipleship "today" without spending energy on "tomorrow" is probably the best way to get to "tomorrow." The Gospel According to Luke recalls Jesus' parable of the Rich Fool [Luke 12:13-21] who stores up his crops rather than sharing his bounty.
I have to catch myself when I realize that I often live "in the future" instead of focusing on the "sufficient trouble" of "today." At 82 years of age, the "present," as great or awful as it may be, is the available reality. Remembering Jesus' counsel about worrying becomes a kind of mantra to remind me where my focus should be. AMEN