Summer Solstice & The Lord's Timelessness

Saturday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time

Memorial of Saint Aloysius Gonzaga, Religious

(Click Here for Readings)

Gospel of Matthew 6:24-34

“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...."

Happy Summer Solstice!  Today is the first day of Summer and the longest day of the year.  The extra day light gives us a chance to take care of many outdoor tasks.  We may need to mow and weed eat the lawn, trim back the shrubs, or cut back overgrowth on trees.... 

I have been worried about the state of my front lawn.  It's mainly a big patch of dead and weedy grass.  Since we're in drought conditions with limited watering, I can't do much about it.  Just keep it mowed and edged.  Worrying about the grass seems rather silly when so many people don't even have a home to live in!

Many people worry about the little trivialities in life.  Maybe they've put on some weight and can no longer fit in their skinny jeans.  Maybe they don't think they can afford that steak for the grill out. Maybe they worry they can't "out-do" their neighbor with the finely manicured lawn who is obviously disobeying water restrictions! 

When we worry about the little things in life, we miss out on the greatness of God's handiwork.  We fail to recognize the beauty surrounding us every day.  We become so immersed in our own "To Do" lists that we don't stop to smell the wild flowers or observe the birds flying in the sky.  If God takes care of the animal kingdom, what makes us think he won't take care of us, too?  Why all the senseless worrying?

Satan loves for us to worry!  He knows along with worry arrives fear and anxiety.  Then comes along impatience and anger because we don't see things going our way.  We may even begin to subconsciously look for other things to worry about.  It's a vicious cycle.  Jesus clearly doesn't want us to worry.  Hand over our worries to Him and shoo away pesky old Satan!

The Lord's Timelessness  Today marks the longest day of the year on the North American continent, but our Lord's schedule doesn't rotate on a 24 hour clock: It's timeless!  Because the Lord works under the scope of timelessness, we cannot expect him to answer our prayers immediately.  We can't expect the Lord to "fix" our problems as if he's an IT guy we call on to repair our computer that's just crashed.  We must trust in God and allow him to demonstrate his love and mercy for us on his own time schedule.  Worrying that our prayers are not being heard does us no good.  In fact, it only makes us worry more.  

God always gives us what we need.  We may not appreciate it at the time thinking, "Why would God give me this?  This isn't what I want!  This isn't helping me!"  Be patient. Over time it's amazing how God's plan works itself out.  

In my own life, I've often subjected myself to "useless worrying" becoming angry thinking, "What's the use in trusting God when all of this crap in my life won't go away?"  Then weeks go by and my worry turns into peace.  Then I recognize it: God's handiwork all along!   He was there guiding me, but I allowed all the worry to blind my eyes.  

Don't allow worry to overwhelm.  Life is way too short to be paralyzed by anxiety.  Enjoy the Summer and remember God is always near you. He will answer your prayers on his own time line. 

Saint Aloysius Gonzaga, Pray for Us! 

-J.