CBCP Episcopal Commission on Family and Life executive secretary Fr. Melvin Castro stressed how Jesus invites the faithful to entrust even practical and material concerns to Him.
LIPA, Batangas, June 22, 2013—It may go against modern logic, but God wants us to trust Him to provide even for our material needs, a priest said.
“Today, Our Lord is telling us something that is contrary to human wisdom. Human wisdom tells us to store up things, human wisdom tells us to plan,” CBCP Episcopal Commission on Family and Life executive secretary Fr. Melvin Castro said during a homily this morning to a group of pilgrims at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel church in Lipa, Batangas.
‘I got your back’
“He tells us, I’ll take care of you,” Fr. Castro added, “In Tagalog we say, sagot ko kayo (I got your back). No matter how much we plan, no matter how much we prepare, but in the end, God provides.”
Fr. Castro, who is also the founder of the Confraternity of Mary Mediatrix, said that, often people tend to worry about a lot of things they have no control of.
“At night, you stay up worrying, but did anything change? You only end up lacking in sleep,” he said.
Today’s Gospel from Matthew talks about being preoccupied with material needs like day-to-day concerns for food and clothing.
A ‘yes’ to God’s bigger plan
Fr. Castro especially emphasized modern man’s struggle to let go of an attachment to his plans and daily schedule.
“Don’t worry about tomorrow,” he encouraged everyone, adding how it is a natural inclination to want to plan — not just for tomorrow, but often, even the days ahead.
But Fr. Castro, who is based in the diocese of Tarlac, pointed to the example of the Blessed Virgin Mary who gave up her own plans to say ‘yes’ to God’s bigger plan.
“Obviously she had other plans because she asked, ‘How can this be when I do not know man?’, but she said yes [to God’s plan],” he added making allusion to several theologians’ and mystics’ belief that the Blessed Virgin originally intended to stay an unmarried virgin all her life.
In ending, Fr. Castro clarified that the Christians’ ‘yes’ must be a joyful ‘yes’ to God and not a stoic one simply because one has no choice.
The Confraternity of Mary, Mediatrix of all Grace is a private association promoting True Devotion to Our Lady as taught by St. Louis Marie de Montfort. [Nirva’ana Ella Delacruz]
