Gospel for the Day..

June 20
Friday

11th Week in Ordinary Time

First Reading: 2 K 11:1-4, 9-18, 20

When Athaliah, the mother of Ahaziah, saw that her son had died, she was determined to wipe out all the descendants of the king. But Jehosheba, the daughter of King Joram and sister of Ahaziah, took Joash, her nephew, and brought him away from among the king's sons who were about to be killed, and put him with his wet nurse in the bedroom. Thus she hid him from Athaliah, so that the boy was saved. And Joash remained hidden in the House of Yahweh for six years while Athaliah reigned over the land.
In the seventh year, Jehoiada the chief priest, summoned the officers of the royal guard and of the Carites to the House of Yahweh. After concluding a pact with them under oath, he showed them the king's son.
The commanders of the guards did what Jehoiada the priest had told them to do and they showed up with all their men, those who were to go off duty on the sabbath as well as those who were to come on duty on that day. Jehoiada entrusted to the officers the spears and shields of King David which were in the House of Yahweh. And then the guards stood from the southern corner of the house to the north, surrounding the altar and the House of Yahweh.
Then Jehoiada, the priest, brought out the king's son, crowned him and put the bracelets on him, then proclaimed and consecrated him king. All clapped their hands, shouting and crying out, "Long live the king!"
When Athaliah heard the noise of? the people, she approached the crowd surrounding the House of Yahweh. The king was standing by the pillar, according to the custom, and the officers and the trumpeters were with him. The people were filled with joy and they were blowing trumpets. On seeing this, Athaliah tore her clothes and cried out, "Treason, treason!"
Jehoiada the priest commanded the officers, "Surround her and bring her out to the courtyard, and kill anyone who tries to defend her." He gave this order, because he thought, "She should not die in the House of Yahweh."
They brought her out, and when they reached the palace of the king by the horses' entrance, there they killed her.
Jehoiada made a covenant between Yahweh and the king and the people so they would be the people of Yahweh. All the citizens went to the temple of Baal and destroyed it. They broke the altars and the images into pieces, and killed Mattan, the priest of Baal, before his altar.
Then Jehoiada, the priest, posted guards over the House of Yahweh. All the citizens were happy and the city was at peace. Now regarding Athaliah, she had died by the sword in the king's palace.


Responsorial Psalm:
Ps 132:11, 12, 13-14, 17-18
The Lord has chosen Zion for his dwelling.


Gospel Reading: Mt 6:19-23

Jesus said to his disciples, "Do not store up treasure for yourself here on earth where moth and rust destroy it, and where thieves can steal it. Store up treasure for yourself with God, where no moth or rust can destroy nor thief come and steal it.
"For where your treasure is, there also your heart will be.
"The lamp of the body is the eye; if your eyes are sound, your whole body will be in the light. If your eyes are diseased your whole body will be in darkness. Then, if your light has become darkness, how dark will be the darkest part of you!"

Commentary
Earthly riches and material possessions have quite a lure upon our hearts. We can easily become seduced by the desire for more and more things, thinking that our security will rest upon how many goods we are able to accumulate.
Jesus tells us that this is folly. Material possessions and money are relatively unim-portant. They can be used to do any number of good things, including putting bread on the family table, but in the end we will not be able to take any of the things of this world with us to the next.
Heavenly, not earthly treasures must be our goal.

Gospel for the Day..

June 19
Thursday

11th Week in Ordinary Time
Romuald

First Reading: Sir 48:1-14

Then came the prophet Elijah like a fire, his words a burning torch.
He brought a famine on the people and in his zealous love had them reduced in number.
Speaking in the name of the Lord he closed the heavens, and on three occasions called down fire.
How marvelous you were, Elijah, in your wondrous deeds! Who could ever boast of being your equal? By the word of the Most High you brought a dead man back to life; you brought kings to destruction and thrust famous men from their beds.
You heard a rebuke at Sinai and sentences of punishment at Horeb; you anointed kings to be avengers and prophets to succeed you.
You were taken up by a whirlwind of flames in a chariot drawn by fiery horses.
It was written that you should be the one to calm God's anger in the future before it broke out in fury, to turn the hearts of fathers to their sons and to restore the tribes of Jacob.
Happy are those who will see you and those who die in love, for we too shall live.
Such was Elijah, taken up in a whirlwind, and Elisha was filled with his spirit.
During his life no leader could shake him, no one dominated him. Nothing was too difficult for him and even in death his body prophesied. In life he worked wonders, in death his deeds were amazing.

Responsorial Psalm:
Ps 97:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7
Rejoice in the Lord, you just!


Gospel Reading: Mt 6:7-15

Jesus said to his disciples, "When you pray, do not use a lot of words, as the pagans do, for they hold that the more they say, the more chance they have of being heard. Do not be like them. Your Father knows what you need, even before you ask him.
"This, then, is how you should pray:
Our Father in heaven,
holy be your name,
your kingdom come
and your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today the kind of bread we need.
Forgive us our debts
just as we have forgiven those who are in debt to us.
Do not bring us to the test
but deliver us from the evil one.
"If you forgive others their wrongs, your Father in heaven will also forgive yours. If you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive you either."

Commentary
This simple prayer sums up all of the prayers contained in the scriptures, and gives us a keen insight into the mind of Jesus. The Lord desires so much for us to be in a close relationship with His heavenly Father, and opens His arms on the cross to reconcile us with Him. Teaching us to call God "Father" is Jesus' innovation. Never before would a human being dare to approach God using that name, yet ever since Jesus taught us this simple prayer have we found such solace in doing so.
Daily may we pray this prayer until we are united forever in the house of Our Father.

Gospel for the Day..

An Upright Intention in Almsgiving, Prayer and Fasting

(Jesus said to His disciples,) [1] “Beware of practicing your piety before men in order to be seen by them; for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in Heaven.

[2] “Thus, when you give alms, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by men. Truly, I say to you, they have their reward. [3] But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, [4] so that your alms may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

[5] “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by men. Truly, I say to you, they have their reward. [6] But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

[16] “And when you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by men. Truly, I say to you, they have their reward. [17] But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, [18] that your fasting may not be seen by men but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”


*** Commentary ***

1-18. “Piety”, here, means good works (cf. note on Matthew 5:6). Our Lord is indicating the kind of spirit in which we should do acts of personal piety. Almsgiving, fasting and prayer were the basic forms taken by personal piety among the chosen people --- which is why Jesus refers to these three subjects. With complete authority He teaches that true piety must be practiced with an upright intention, in the presence of God and without any ostentation. Piety practiced in this way implies exercising our faith in God who sees us --- and also in the safe knowledge that He will reward those who are sincerely devout.

5-6. Following the teaching of Jesus, the Church has always taught us to pray even when we were infants. By saying “you” (singular) our Lord is stating quite unequivocally the need for personal prayer --- relating as child to Father, alone with God.

Public prayer, for which Christ’s faithful assemble together, is something necessary and holy; but it should never displace obedience to this clear commandment of our Lord: “When you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father”.

The Second Vatican Council reminds us of the teaching and practice of the Church in its liturgy, which is “the summit toward which the activity of the Church is directed; it is also the fount from which all her power flows [...]. The spiritual life, however, is not limited solely to participation in the liturgy. The Christian is indeed called to pray with others, but he must also enter into his bedroom to pray to his Father in secret; furthermore, according to the teaching of the Apostle, he must pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17)” (“Sacrosanctum Concilium”, 10 and 12).
A soul who really puts his Christian faith into practice realizes that he needs frequently to get away and pray alone to his Father, God. Jesus, who gives us this teaching about prayer, practiced it during His own life on earth: the holy Gospel reports that He often went apart to pray on His own: “At times He spent the whole night in an intimate conversation with His Father. The Apostles were filled with love when they saw Christ pray” (St. J. Escriva, “Christ Is Passing By”, 119; cf. Matthew 14:23; Mark 1:35; Luke 5:16; etc.). The Apostles followed the Master’s example, and so we see Peter going up to the rooftop of the house to pray in private, and receiving a revelation (cf. Acts 10:9-16). “Our life of prayer should also be based on some moments that are dedicated exclusively to our conversation with God, moments of silent dialogue” (“ibid”, 119).

16-18. Starting from the traditional practice of fasting, our Lord tells us the spirit in which we should exercise mortification of our senses: we should do so without ostentation, avoiding raise, discreetly; that way Jesus’ words will not apply to us: “they have their reward”; it would have been a very bad deal. “The world admires only spectacular sacrifice, because it does not realize the value of sacrifice that is hidden and silent” (St. J. Escriva, “The Way”, 185).

Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate.
Commentaries by members of the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and by Scepter Publishers in the United States. * gso/eao