Sunday, February 27
Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Roman Ordinary calendar
St. Leander and St. Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows
Book of Isaiah 49,14-15.
Zion said, «The LORD has forsaken me; my LORD has forgotten me.»
Can a mother forget her infant, be without tenderness for the child of her womb? Even should she forget, I will never forget you.
Psalms 62(61),2-3.6-7.8-9.
Only in God is my soul at rest;
from him comes my salvation.
He only is my rock and my salvation,
my stronghold; I shall not be disturbed at all.
Only in God be at rest, my soul,
for from him comes my hope.
He only is my rock and my salvation,
my stronghold; I shall not be disturbed.
My safety and glory are with God, my strong rock and refuge.
Trust in him at all times, O my people!
Pour out your hearts before him;
God is our refuge!
First Letter to the Corinthians 4,1-5.
Brothers and sisters : Thus should one regard us : as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.
Now it is of course required of stewards that they be found trustworthy.
It does not concern me in the least that I be judged by you or any human tribunal; I do not even pass judgment on myself;
I am not conscious of anything against me, but I do not thereby stand acquitted; the one who judges me is the Lord.
Therefore, do not make any judgment before the appointed time, until the Lord comes, for he will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will manifest the motives of our hearts, and then everyone will receive praise from God.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint 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 life-span?
Why are you anxious about clothes? Learn from the way the wild flowers 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.”
Bishop Knecht’s Practical Commentary on Matt 6:24-34
The Goodness of God. God provides for all His creatures. He feeds the birds of the air and adorns the flowers of the field with beautiful colours. He is the most loving Father to us men, and Him we have to thank for body and life, food and drink, dwelling and raiment.
Confidence in God. Are we, then, to take no thought for the things
of this life, such as food and clothing? Yes; we must, according to
our abilities, provide for them, but we are not to be over-anxious, and
must trust in the goodness, wisdom and power of God. We must work,
but we must also pray; for all our efforts will be quite useless without
the blessing of God.
Care for our salvation must be our chief concern as Christians.
Before everything else we must try to attain to the kingdom of heaven,
i. e. to save our souls, and for this end we must live in the grace of
God and strive ceaselessly after His “justice”. A true love of ourselves
demands this of us, for our soul is more precious than our body, and
we ought to seek its interests first.
Covetousness, or the worship of mammon. He who “serves” mammon
is the man who fondly considers the gaining and increasing of riches to
be the greatest business of life, and neglects the worship of God and
the care of his own soul, not even shrinking from such sins as theft,
usury and perjury, if they will enable him to add to his wealth.
The right use of worldly possessions consists in using them for God
and in the practice of good works. Holy men, such as Abraham, Job
and Tobias, possessed great riches, but they were not slaves to them.
On the contrary, they made their wealth serve them, and expended it
in the service of God and their neighbour.
Good works. All good works, such as works of piety, mortification
and brotherly love, are treasures laid up in heaven. When we die, we
must leave all earthly things, even our very bodies, behind us: only our
good works will go with us, and procure for us a favourable judgment.
Catholicism Pure & Simple 
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