Daily Gospel Reflection for July 2, 2017 - Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Today's Gospel: Matthew 10:37-42

Jesus gives us clear directives in today’s Gospel on what it takes to be worthy of our ultimate goal of eternal life with God in heaven. Our love for God must surpass our love for all else, including our very life itself in this world. Only if we are willing to forsake everything out of love for God can we be genuinely worthy of the Kingdom.

While it may be easy to profess a love for God above all else, it is not always easy to have our day to day choices reflect this priority. Particularly as mothers, it can be challenging to truly make our relationship with God take precedence over our familial relationships. Amidst the many tasks we try to accomplish in a day, finding the time to nurture our relationship with God often gets pushed to the bottom of the to-do list.

Yet if we consider Jesus’ teachings in Matthew, this has implications for not only our own Christian journey but that of our children, for the most essential aspect of our vocations as mothers is to help lead our children to heaven. If we desire for our children to recognize the importance of putting their relationship with God above all else, then we have a responsibility to model a right relationship with God through our own choices.

Today let us endeavor to order our time in such a way that it reflects our love for God before our love for everything else. And in doing so, may we better lead our children in their own walk with Christ, so we may hope to one day enjoy the eternal reward of the Kingdom together.

[Tweet "Let us endeavor to order our time to reflect our love for God. By Danielle Bianchi"]

Ponder:

What is one small change you can make to your plans for today to devote more time to nurturing your relationship with God?

Pray:

God our Father, help me to keep my relationship with You first and foremost in my life. Give me the wisdom to direct the other goods in my life towards my love for You.

Danielle Bianchi earned her Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in Theology from the University of Notre Dame, and is a graduate of the school’s Echo Program for catechetical leadership. She and her husband have four children.