Posted on 06/22/2024 6:11:14 AM PDT by fidelis
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.” Matthew 6:24
Mammon is another word for money. Jesus is clear that you must choose to serve either God or money, but not both. A divided heart does not suffice. Saint John of the Cross, in His spiritual classic “Ascent to Mount Carmel,” explains something similar. He says that our desires must become completely purified to the point that all we desire is God and His holy will.
Every other desire in life must be purged away so that we are singularly devoted to God. Does this mean that God and God alone should be the object of all of our love? Yes, indeed. But that truth must be properly understood.
When we consider the calling we have been given from God to love, it is true that we must love not only God but also many other things in life. We must love family, friends, neighbors, and even our enemies. Hopefully we also love other aspects of our lives, such as our vocation, our job, our home, a certain pastime, etc. So how do we love God with singular devotion when we also have many other things we must love?
The answer is quite simple. The love of God is such that when we make God the singular object of our love and devotion, the love we have for God will supernaturally overflow. This is the nature of the love of God. As we love God, we will find that God calls us to love Him by loving other people and even various aspects of our lives. As we love what God wills us to love and as we express our love for all that is contained in the will of God, we are still loving God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength.
But back to our Scripture above. Why is it that we cannot love God and money? “Mammon” in this passage must be understood as a love that becomes an unhealthy attachment and desire. Money is such that we can “love” it by allowing our desires for it to become disordered and, thus, exclude the will of God from that “love.” Money is not evil when it is used solely in accord with the will of God. In that case, the money we use will give God great glory. But when money, or any other object of our desire, begins to take on a life of its own, so to speak, then that desire will be at odds with our love of God. To love God and God alone means we love God and all that He wills us to love in life.
Reflect, today, upon the necessity of being singularly devoted to God. As you commit yourself to this exclusive love, consider also whom and what God calls you to love in and through Him. Where does His perfect will lead you, and how are you called to show your love of God through the love of others? Consider, also, any ways in which you have allowed an unhealthy attachment to money or anything else in life to distract you from the one and ultimate purpose of your life. Allow God to purge those unhealthy desires and false “loves” from your heart so that you will be free to love as you were made to love.
My Lord and God, You are worthy of all of my love. You and You alone must become the single focus of all of my love. As I love You, dear Lord, help me to discover all that Your will directs me to love more and all that Your will calls me to detach from. May I choose only You and that which is contained in Your holy and perfect will. Jesus, I trust in You.
Please keep in mind that this is a Catholic Caucus/Devotional thread for the purpose of prayerful reflection on the Sacred Scriptures and is closed to debate of any kind. Per FR policy on Religion Caucus threads, off-topic, argumentative, and abusive comments are not allowed and will be submitted to the Mods for deletion. Thanks, and God bless you.
Let us pray.
O Virgin Mother of God, we fly to your protection and beg your intercession against the darkness and sin which ever more envelop the world and menace the Church. Your Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, gave you to us as our mother as He died on the Cross for our salvation. So too, in 1531, when darkness and sin beset us, He sent you, as Our Lady of Guadalupe, on Tepeyac to lead us to Him Who alone is our light and our salvation.
Through your apparitions on Tepeyac and your abiding presence with us on the miraculous mantle of your messenger, Saint Juan Diego, millions of souls converted to faith in your Divine Son. Through this novena and our consecration to you, we humbly implore your intercession for our daily conversion of life to Him and the conversion of millions more who do not yet believe in Him. In our homes and in our nation, lead us to Him Who alone wins the victory over sin and darkness in us and in the world.
Unite our hearts to your Immaculate Heart so that they may find their true and lasting home in the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. Ever guide us along the pilgrimage of life to our eternal home with Him. So may our hearts, one with yours, always trust in God's promise of salvation, in His never-failing mercy toward all who turn to Him with a humble and contrite heart. Through this novena and our consecration to you, O Virgin of Guadalupe, lead all souls in America and throughout the world to your Divine Son in Whose name we pray. Amen.
"Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
(Matthew 11:28-30)
Amen
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