Thursday of the Eleventh Week in
Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 368
Lectionary: 368
Like a fire there appeared the
prophet Elijah
whose words were as a flaming furnace.
Their staff of bread he shattered,
in his zeal he reduced them to straits;
By the Lord’s word he shut up the heavens
and three times brought down fire.
How awesome are you, Elijah, in your wondrous deeds!
Whose glory is equal to yours?
You brought a dead man back to life
from the nether world, by the will of the LORD.
You sent kings down to destruction,
and easily broke their power into pieces.
You brought down nobles, from their beds of sickness.
You heard threats at Sinai,
at Horeb avenging judgments.
You anointed kings who should inflict vengeance,
and a prophet as your successor.
You were taken aloft in a whirlwind of fire,
in a chariot with fiery horses.
You were destined, it is written, in time to come
to put an end to wrath before the day of the LORD,
To turn back the hearts of fathers toward their sons,
and to re-establish the tribes of Jacob.
Blessed is he who shall have seen you
And who falls asleep in your friendship.
For we live only in our life,
but after death our name will not be such.
O Elijah, enveloped in the whirlwind!
whose words were as a flaming furnace.
Their staff of bread he shattered,
in his zeal he reduced them to straits;
By the Lord’s word he shut up the heavens
and three times brought down fire.
How awesome are you, Elijah, in your wondrous deeds!
Whose glory is equal to yours?
You brought a dead man back to life
from the nether world, by the will of the LORD.
You sent kings down to destruction,
and easily broke their power into pieces.
You brought down nobles, from their beds of sickness.
You heard threats at Sinai,
at Horeb avenging judgments.
You anointed kings who should inflict vengeance,
and a prophet as your successor.
You were taken aloft in a whirlwind of fire,
in a chariot with fiery horses.
You were destined, it is written, in time to come
to put an end to wrath before the day of the LORD,
To turn back the hearts of fathers toward their sons,
and to re-establish the tribes of Jacob.
Blessed is he who shall have seen you
And who falls asleep in your friendship.
For we live only in our life,
but after death our name will not be such.
O Elijah, enveloped in the whirlwind!
Then Elisha, filled with the
twofold portion of his spirit,
wrought many marvels by his mere word.
During his lifetime he feared no one,
nor was any man able to intimidate his will.
Nothing was beyond his power;
beneath him flesh was brought back into life.
In life he performed wonders,
and after death, marvelous deeds.
wrought many marvels by his mere word.
During his lifetime he feared no one,
nor was any man able to intimidate his will.
Nothing was beyond his power;
beneath him flesh was brought back into life.
In life he performed wonders,
and after death, marvelous deeds.
Responsorial
Psalm97:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7
R. (12a) Rejoice in the Lord,
you just!
The LORD is king; let the earth rejoice;
let the many isles be glad.
Clouds and darkness are round about him,
justice and judgment are the foundation of his throne.
R. Rejoice in the Lord, you just!
Fire goes before him
and consumes his foes round about.
His lightnings illumine the world;
the earth sees and trembles.
R. Rejoice in the Lord, you just!
The mountains melt like wax before the LORD,
before the Lord of all the earth.
The heavens proclaim his justice,
and all peoples see his glory.
R. Rejoice in the Lord, you just!
All who worship graven things are put to shame,
who glory in the things of nought;
all gods are prostrate before him.
R. Rejoice in the Lord, you just!
The LORD is king; let the earth rejoice;
let the many isles be glad.
Clouds and darkness are round about him,
justice and judgment are the foundation of his throne.
R. Rejoice in the Lord, you just!
Fire goes before him
and consumes his foes round about.
His lightnings illumine the world;
the earth sees and trembles.
R. Rejoice in the Lord, you just!
The mountains melt like wax before the LORD,
before the Lord of all the earth.
The heavens proclaim his justice,
and all peoples see his glory.
R. Rejoice in the Lord, you just!
All who worship graven things are put to shame,
who glory in the things of nought;
all gods are prostrate before him.
R. Rejoice in the Lord, you just!
AlleluiaROM 8:15BC
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
You have received a spirit of adoption as sons
through which we cry: Abba! Father!
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
You have received a spirit of adoption as sons
through which we cry: Abba! Father!
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GospelMT 6:7-15
Jesus said to his disciples:
“In praying, do not babble like the pagans,
who think that they will be heard because of their many words.
Do not be like them.
Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
“In praying, do not babble like the pagans,
who think that they will be heard because of their many words.
Do not be like them.
Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
“This is how you are to pray:
‘Our Father who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name,
thy Kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.’
hallowed be thy name,
thy Kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.’
“If you forgive others their
transgressions,
your heavenly Father will forgive you.
But if you do not forgive others,
neither will your Father forgive your transgressions.”
your heavenly Father will forgive you.
But if you do not forgive others,
neither will your Father forgive your transgressions.”
Meditation: Your
heavenly Father knows what you need
Do
you believe that God's word has power to change and transform your life today?
Isaiah says that God's word is like the rain and melting snow which makes the
barren ground spring to life and become abundantly fertile (Isaiah 55:10-11).
God's word has power to penetrate our dry barren hearts and make them springs
of new life. If we let God's word take root in our heart it will transform us
into the likeness of God himself and empower us to walk in his way of love and
holiness.
Let
God's word guide and shape the way you judge and act
God wants his word to guide and shape the way we think, act, and pray. Ambrose (339-397 AD), an early church father and bishop of Milan, wrote that the reason we should devote time for reading Scripture is to hear Christ speak to us. "Are you not occupied with Christ? Why do you not talk with him? By reading the Scriptures, we listen to Christ."
God wants his word to guide and shape the way we think, act, and pray. Ambrose (339-397 AD), an early church father and bishop of Milan, wrote that the reason we should devote time for reading Scripture is to hear Christ speak to us. "Are you not occupied with Christ? Why do you not talk with him? By reading the Scriptures, we listen to Christ."
We
can approach God our Father with confidence
We can approach God confidently because he is waiting with arms wide open to receive his prodigal sons and daughters. That is why Jesus gave his disciples the perfect prayer that dares to call God, Our Father. This prayer teaches us how to ask God for the things we really need, the things that matter not only for the present but for eternity as well. We can approach God our Father with confidence and boldness because the Lord Jesus has opened the way to heaven for us through his death and resurrection.
We can approach God confidently because he is waiting with arms wide open to receive his prodigal sons and daughters. That is why Jesus gave his disciples the perfect prayer that dares to call God, Our Father. This prayer teaches us how to ask God for the things we really need, the things that matter not only for the present but for eternity as well. We can approach God our Father with confidence and boldness because the Lord Jesus has opened the way to heaven for us through his death and resurrection.
When
we ask God for help, he fortunately does not give us what we deserve. Instead,
God responds with grace, mercy, and loving-kindness. He is good and forgiving
towards us, and he expects us to treat our neighbor the same. God has poured
his love into our hearts through the gift of the Holy Spirit who has been given
to us (Romans 5:5). And that love is like a refining fire - it purifies and
burns away all prejudice, hatred, resentment, vengeance, and bitterness until
there is nothing left but goodness and forgiveness towards those who
cause us grief or harm.
The
Lord's Pray teaches us how to pray
Consider what John Cassian (360-435 AD), an early church father who lived for several years with the monks in Bethlehem and Egypt before founding a monastery in southern Gaul, wrote about the Lord's Prayer and the necessity of forgiving one another from the heart:
Consider what John Cassian (360-435 AD), an early church father who lived for several years with the monks in Bethlehem and Egypt before founding a monastery in southern Gaul, wrote about the Lord's Prayer and the necessity of forgiving one another from the heart:
"The
mercy of God is beyond description. While he is offering us a model prayer he
is teaching us a way of life whereby we can be pleasing in his sight. But that
is not all. In this same prayer he gives us an easy method for attracting an
indulgent and merciful judgment on our lives. He gives us the possibility of
ourselves mitigating the sentence hanging over us and of compelling him to
pardon us. What else could he do in the face of our generosity when we ask him
to forgive us as we have forgiven our neighbor? If we are faithful in this
prayer, each of us will ask forgiveness for our own failings after we have
forgiven the sins of those who have sinned against us, not only those who have
sinned against our Master. There is, in fact, in some of us a very bad habit.
We treat our sins against God, however appalling, with gentle indulgence - but
when by contrast it is a matter of sins against us ourselves, albeit very tiny
ones, we exact reparation with ruthless severity. Anyone who has not forgiven
from the bottom of the heart the brother or sister who has done him wrong will
only obtain from this prayer his own condemnation, rather than any mercy."
Do
you treat others as you think they deserve to be treated, or do you treat them
as the Lord has treated you - with mercy, steadfast love, and kindness?
"Father
in heaven, you have given me a mind to know you, a will to serve you, and a
heart to love you. Give me today the grace and strength to embrace your holy
will and fill my heart and mind with your truth and love that all my intentions
and actions may be pleasing to you. Help me to be kind and forgiving towards my
neighbor as you have been towards me."
A
Daily Quote for Lent: Pardon
your brother and sister, by Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.
"Pardon,
that you may be pardoned. In doing this, nothing is required of the body. It is
the will that acts. You will experience no physical pain - you will have
nothing less in your home. Now in truth, my brothers and sisters, you see what
an evil it is that those who have been commanded to love even their enemy do
not pardon a penitent brother or sister." (quote from Sermon
210,10)
THURSDAY, JUNE 18, MATTHEW 6:7-15
Weekday
(Sirach 48:1-14; Psalm 97)
Weekday
(Sirach 48:1-14; Psalm 97)
KEY VERSE: "This is how you are to pray..." (v. 9).
TO KNOW: The pagans sought their god's approval by lengthy repetition of their prayers; however, Jesus taught his followers a simple prayer, which we call "The Lord's Prayer." Jesus told his disciples that they could approach God as "Father," a loving parent who was intimately present and already knew their needs. At the same time, they were to reverence God's name and obey the divine will of "Heaven" so that God's reign would be established "on earth." Just as Israel had to depend upon God's providential gift of manna during their wilderness journey (Ex 16:4, 15), Jesus' disciples were to put their trust in God for their daily bread, the Eucharist, as they journeyed to the Promised Land, their eternal home. Since God's mercy is bestowed on sinners, Jesus' disciples must offer forgiveness to others, and pray that they will not fail God in the final test.
TO LOVE: Do I pray the Lord's Prayer with faith and trust in God's loving care?
TO SERVE: How is the Lord’s Prayer a good model for my prayer in terms of praise, forgiveness, and petition?
Thursday 18 June 2020
Ecclesiasticus 48:1-14. Let the just rejoice in the Lord – Psalm
96(97):1-7. Matthew 6:7-15.
How to pray
How do you pray? The question in today’s reading is powerful and
invites reflection. Jesus’ teaching about prayer is a small part of his
revelation of a new way of living, which also included the Beatitudes. The
teaching about prayer draws the reader into an understanding of the depth of
authentic dialogue and relationship with God the Father.
Words are of little importance. In fact, the more words used the
less sincere the prayer is. The heart of prayer is the intimate relationship
one has with God who knows ‘what you need before you ask him’.
In reflecting on this reading seek to discern your preferred
method(s) of prayer. Are you reliant on words? Do you trust the Lord to know
you needs without asking? How can you pray at a deeper level? If words are
still required Jesus offers us a ‘way’ in the Our Father, these words are
enough.
Venerable Matt Talbot
Saint of the Day for June 18
(May 2, 1856 – June 7, 1925)
 |
| Statue of Venerable Matt Talbot | flickr |
Venerable Matt Talbot’s story
Matt can be considered the patron of men and women struggling
with alcoholism. He was born in Dublin, where his father worked on the
docks and had a difficult time supporting his family. After a few years of
schooling, Matt obtained work as a messenger for some liquor merchants; there
he began to drink excessively. For 15 years—until he was almost 30—Matt was an
active alcoholic.
One day he decided to take “the pledge” for three months, make a
general confession and begin to attend daily Mass. There is evidence that
Matt’s first seven years after taking the pledge were especially difficult. Avoiding
his former drinking places was hard. He began to pray as intensely as he used
to drink. He also tried to pay back people from whom he had borrowed or stolen
money while he was drinking.
Most of his life Matt worked as a builder’s laborer. He joined the
Secular Franciscan Order and began a life of strict penance; he abstained from
meat nine months a year. Matt spent hours every night avidly reading Scripture
and the lives of the saints. He prayed the rosary conscientiously. Though his
job did not make him rich, Matt contributed generously to the missions.
After 1923, his health failed, and Matt was forced to quit work.
He died on his way to church on Trinity Sunday. Fifty years later, Pope Paul VI
gave him the title venerable. His Liturgical Feast Day is June 19.
Reflection
In looking at the life of Matt Talbot, we may easily focus on
the later years when he had stopped drinking for some time and was leading a
penitential life. Only alcoholic men and women who have stopped drinking can
fully appreciate how difficult the earliest years of sobriety were for Matt.
He had to take one day at a time. So do the rest of us.
Venerable Matt Talbot is the Patron Saint of:
Alcoholics
Sobriety
Sobriety
Lectio Divina: Matthew 6:7-15
Lectio Divina
Thursday, June 18, 2020
1) OPENING PRAYER
Lord God,
You speak Your mighty word to us,
but we cannot hear it
unless it stirs our lives
and is spoken in human terms.
Keep speaking Your word to us, Lord,
and open our hearts to it,
that it may bear fruit in us
when we do Your will
and carry out what we are sent to do.
We ask You this through Your living Word,
Jesus Christ our Lord.
You speak Your mighty word to us,
but we cannot hear it
unless it stirs our lives
and is spoken in human terms.
Keep speaking Your word to us, Lord,
and open our hearts to it,
that it may bear fruit in us
when we do Your will
and carry out what we are sent to do.
We ask You this through Your living Word,
Jesus Christ our Lord.
2) GOSPEL READING - MATTHEW 6:7-15
Jesus said to his disciples: "In praying, do not babble
like the pagans, who think that they will be heard because of their many words.
Do not be like them. Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
"This is how you are to pray: Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy
name, thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us
this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those
who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from
evil. "If you forgive men their transgressions, your heavenly Father will
forgive you. But if you do not forgive men, neither will your Father forgive
your transgressions."
3) REFLECTION
There are two versions of the Our Father: Luke (Lk 11:1-4) and
Matthew (Mt 6:7-13). In Luke, the Our Father is shorter. Luke writes for the
communities which came from Paganism. In Matthew the Our Father is found in the
Discourse on the Mountain, in the part where Jesus orientates the disciples in
the practice of the three works of piety: alms (Mt 6:1-4), prayer (Mt 6:5-15)
and fasting (Mt6:16-18). The Our Father forms part of a catechesis for the
converted Jews. They were accustomed to pray, but had some vices which Matthew
tries to correct.
Matthew 6:7-8: The faults to be corrected. Jesus criticizes the
people for whom prayer was a repetition of a magic formula, strong words
addressed to God to oblige Him to respond to our needs. The acceptance of our
prayer by God does not depend on the repetition of words, but on God’s
goodness, on God who is love and mercy. He wants our good and knows our needs
even before we pray to Him.
Matthew 6:9a: The first words: Our Father, Abba Father, is the
name which Jesus uses to address Himself to God. It reveals the new
relationship with God that should characterize the life of the communities (Ga
4:6; Rm 8:15). We say Our Father and not My Father . The adjective places the
accent on the awareness or knowledge that we all belong to the great human
family of all races and creeds. To pray to the Father is to enter in intimacy
with Him. It also means to be sensitive to the cry of all the brothers and
sisters who cry for their daily bread. It means to seek in the first place the
Kingdom of God. The experience of God as our Father is the foundation of
universal fraternity.
Matthew 6:9b-10: Three requests for the cause of God: The Name,
the Kingdom, the Will. In the first part we ask that our relationship with God
may be re-established again. To sanctify His name: The name JAHVE means I am
with you! God knows. In this name He makes Himself known (Ex 3:11-15). The name
of God is sanctified when it is used with faith and not with magic; when it is
used according to its true objective, not for oppression but for the liberty or
freedom of the people and for the construction of the Kingdom. The coming of
the Kingdom: The only Lord and King of life is God (Is 45:21; 46:9). The coming
of the Kingdom is the fulfillment of all the hopes and promises. It is life in
plenitude, the overcoming of frustration suffered with human kings and
governments. This Kingdom will come when the Will of God will be fully
accomplished. To do His will: The will of God is expressed in His Law. His will
be done on earth as it is in Heaven. In Heaven the sun and the stars obey the
laws of their orbit and create the order of the universe (Is 48:12-13). The
observance of the law of God will be a source of order and well-being for human
life.
Matthew 6:11-13: Four petitions for the cause of the brothers:
Bread, Pardon, Victory, Liberty. In the second part of the Our Father we ask
that the relationship among persons may be restored. The four requests show how
necessary it is to transform or change the structures of the community and
society in order that all the sons and daughters of God may have the same dignity.
The daily bread. In Exodus the people received the manna in the desert every
day (Ex 16:35). Divine Providence passed through the fraternal organization,
the sharing. Jesus invites us to live a new Exodus, a new fraternal way of
living together which will guarantee the daily bread for all (Mt 6:34-44; Jo
6:48-51). Forgive us our debts: Every 50 years, the Jubilee Year obliged people
to forgive their debts. It was a new beginning (Lv 25:8-55). Jesus announces a
new Jubilee Year, a year of grace from the Lord (Lk 4:19). The Gospel wants to
begin everything anew! Do not lead us into temptation, do not put us to the
test: In Exodus, people were tempted and fell (Dt 9:6-12). The people
complained and wanted to go back (Ex 16:3; 17:3). In the new Exodus, the
temptation will be overcome by the strength which people receive from God (I Co
10:12-13). Deliver us from evil: The Evil One is Satan, who draws away from God
and is a cause of scandal. He succeeds in entering in Peter (Mt 16:23) and to
tempt Jesus in the desert. Jesus overcomes him (Mt 4:1-11). He tells us:
Courage, I have conquered the world! (Jn 16:33).
Matthew 6:14-15: Anyone who does not forgive will not be
forgiven. In praying the Our Father, we pronounce the phrase which condemns us
or absolves us. We say: Forgive our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass
us (Mt 6:12). We offer God the measure of pardon that we want. If we forgive
very much, He will forgive us very much. If we forgive little, He will forgive
little. If we do not forgive, He will not forgive us.
4) PERSONAL QUESTIONS
Jesus prayer says forgive our debts . In some countries it is
translated as forgive our offenses . What is easier to forgive, the offenses or
to forgive the debts?
Christian nations of the Northern Hemisphere (Europe and USA) pray everyday: Forgive our debts as we forgive those who are in debt to us! But they do not forgive the external debt of poor countries of the Third World. How can we explain this terrible contradiction, source of impoverishment of millions of people?
Debt, in the context of society, is not only money. In fact, in referring to people who have served time in jail we say “they have paid their debt to society”. Do we accept these people back into society? Not only have they paid their “debt”, they are often treated as having not been forgiven.
How do we forgive others in terms of immigration, documented or not, and accept them into our communities?
Christian nations of the Northern Hemisphere (Europe and USA) pray everyday: Forgive our debts as we forgive those who are in debt to us! But they do not forgive the external debt of poor countries of the Third World. How can we explain this terrible contradiction, source of impoverishment of millions of people?
Debt, in the context of society, is not only money. In fact, in referring to people who have served time in jail we say “they have paid their debt to society”. Do we accept these people back into society? Not only have they paid their “debt”, they are often treated as having not been forgiven.
How do we forgive others in terms of immigration, documented or not, and accept them into our communities?
5) CONCLUDING PRAYER
Proclaim with me the greatness of Yahweh,
let us acclaim His name together.
I seek Yahweh and He answers me,
frees me from all my fears. (Ps 34,3-4)
let us acclaim His name together.
I seek Yahweh and He answers me,
frees me from all my fears. (Ps 34,3-4)
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