June 18.  WMFO Novena Day 6.  Focus on Poverty.

 Which girl, or boy, for that matter, hasn’t stood in front of their cupboard before a party and said, “I’ve got nothing to wear?” It’s funny that Jesus chose practical examples, but maybe in an exaggerated way, to make his point. Whether we are well-off or poor, clothes have become so much part of one’s identity it is hard to detach oneself from spending money and energy on appearances, and so we end up neglecting the things of God’s kingdom. There are people who are more or less desperate for clothes and food and money for school books.   Should we not all examine our priorities, first seek the things of God’s kingdom and will this then make us understand that material things are not the most important?   At the same time examine our faith and consider which of us really trusts in God to provide as Jesus promises?”   

Reflect, share and act.  Scripture:   Do not be anxious saying, what shall we eat, or what shall we drink, or what shall we wear?  The Gentiles seek all these things and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom and his righteousness and all these things shall be yours as well. Matt 6:24–34. Pope Francis: The emptier a person’s heart is, the more he or she needs things to buy, own and consume.   Christian spirituality proposes a growth marked  by moderation and the capacity to be happy with little.  It is a return to that simplicity which allows us to stop and appreciate the small things, to be grateful for the opportunities to be spiritually detached from what we possess and not to succumb to sadness for what we lack.  LS222.   From Catechesis 3: The time when Jesus lived in Nazareth, within the Holy Family, illuminates the life of each of our families in a new way: the daily routine of everyday life, apparently insignificant and meaningless, can become a new way of fulfilling the specific call of the family: to render love normal and so each of our families can make an irreplaceable contribution to the world. No other school can teach authentic, genuine, trustworthy, and credible love the way a family can.