Have you ever talked to someone who has been unemployed for an extended period? Worry and anxiety about tomorrow is intense. To those situations Jesus says: Do not worry about your life. Do not toil unless for the kingdom of God. Do not worry about what to eat, what to drink, or what to wear. Do not worry about your life. God remembers you, knows you, and brings light into your darkness. Trust in God and be confident in the life God has given you.

Anxiety is all about the negative, about giving yourself to the gremlins of fear and dread. Entrusting yourself to the way of faith is more than only being positive of course; it's not a glass half-empty vs. half-full scenario. Living faithfully means that no matter what lies behind you or what's up ahead, you're confident that God remains the Lord of your life. God's word is true, and God can be trusted. Even though you walk in that bitter valley of shadows, you won't go in alone, and you won't come out alone either.

You can’t worship two gods at once. Loving one god, you’ll end up hating the other. Adoration of one feeds contempt for the other. You can’t worship God and Money both. . . .

WHEN MOTHER TERESA'S Sisters first started to care for the babies left on their doorsteps in India, they weren’t very successful. Despite comfortable cribs with clean sheets in bright and cheery nurseries, the little ones were turning their faces to the wall and not even tasting the nutritious food offered them. What was missing? Many of them wasted away and died despite all that the sisters were doing for them.

Lord, Brothers and sisters, let us acknowledge our sins, and so prepare ourselves to celebrate the sacred mysteries.

Who is to judge? The remarkable Christian teaching not to judge comes from the reality that only God can judge. Let’s keep our consciences clear, Saint Paul said: I do not judge you nor should you judge me; “the one who judges me is the Lord.” From this power of God comes another challenge, all the readings say this week, besides not to judge: trust in God. Not in money or material goods but in God’s care alone. This call to trust makes a further claim on disciples. Do you have faith? Jesus asks. Then “seek first the kingdom of God.” Be trustworthy “stewards of the mysteries of God.”

Prosperity theology, sometimes called the prosperity gospel, is the notion that believers who confess their faith and are generous with tithes and offerings will in turn be rewarded by God with material riches. Most popular in Pentecostal traditions, it can be heard on some or another television station every hour of the day and night (often while a toll-free number and website address flash on the screen).

There is always enough God. –Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts