It is 23rd June 2018. The readings are from 2 Chronicles 24:17-25; and the Gospel from Matthew 6:24-34. Life is indeed challenging at times scary when we have to live with the ungrateful and revengeful people. We forget people easily in our lives when we have reached a better shore. Some of us even go to the extent of getting rid of them forgetting the help they had rendered when we were so desperate in our lives. In some instances, when we are questioned and pointed out the mistakes by them, we deal with them and erase their memory and names even forgetting how much they went out of their ways for our security, welfare and livelihood. God does not endorse the ungrateful people and God in his time will deal with them so brutally that they cannot escape. We have an account of an ungrateful person in the name of Joash who was protected by the priest. After his death, people abandoned the faith in God along with their king. Zechariah, the son of the priest spoke against the idol worship and a systematic desecration and abandonment of faith in Yahweh. Forgetting the gratitude owed by the king to the family of the priest, he murdered Zechariah in the court of the temple. Eventually the king was murdered by those who counselled and schooled him to all kinds of murder and idolatry. God does not tolerate the ungrateful people and murderers. The ungratefulness is the most abominable thing in front of God. “Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord.” (Rom.12:19). Let us learn to be grateful in our lives. However insignificant the help we received from someone, we still owe a word and action of gratitude in some way. Even if they refuse to accept our gratitude, it is our right and duty to show kindness to those who helped us in even in a tiny way that changed the course of our lives. The responsorial Psalm praises, “I will keep my love for him always.” (Ps.88:29). We are invited in the Gospel to trust God totally in freedom. The ungrateful people do not feel the need for the providence of God. They solely rely on themselves, their skills, their faculties to be the best and that is exactly they go wrong worshiping their talents and achievements with a bunch of people to praise them around forgetting God’s goodness and providence. Let us learn to live, experience and cherish every small step we make. Being happy and stop worrying is the key to trust in the providence of God. The passage teaches us that we need to trust God always, work hard to share the resources with someone in need, try by all means to minimize the worries by allowing God to handle some of them, connecting and learning from the nature, having a quality time for inner health and working for welfare of the humanity, starting to living one day at a time in gratitude, peace and service and settling down and being contented with what we have are the things will make us to live a grateful lives and trusting in God’s providence daily. May we be grateful to one another because we owe one another a lot. May you have a good day. God bless you.

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