11th Week, Ordinary Time, Wed. June 20, 2007

Dear Reader: I am anticipating being away from my desk so here are some
meditations for today and Thursday and Friday:

Scripture: II Cor. 9:6-11. Psalm 112. Matthew 6:1-6,16-18. Lectionary #
367 :

Paul and Jesus encourage us to look at life in a positive way with an
openness towards risking for the sake of God's realm. In the collection of
letters under the title of II Corinthians, we find Paul dealing with the
ordinary things of each day. He continues to ask for monetary assistance
from the Macedonians and from those who can afford to give something. He
always does this in a positive way. His concerns are for those who have
not heard the message of Jesus and for the poor who need to be encouraged
through his preaching and the generosity of other Christian communities.
God loves a cheerful giver. Then Jesus continues his great Sermon on the
Mount and today we are instructed to follow the three pillars of religion:
prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. He himself has given us the example and
we have already read about Paul's generosity towards the poor and his
prayer for the Christian communities he and Barnabas have helped to form.
We are to be followers of these three pillars of our religion ( they are
also among the five pillars of Islam, and were part of the Jewish religion
practiced by Jesus). Prayer is to be done in a non-ostentatious way,
without many words, and often in secret. Not always in one's private room
but together with those at prayer in the synagogue and later in the
Christian churches. Prayer can be done everywhere but some places are more
suited to a prayerful atmosphere. Fasting is to be done in such a way that
it does not take away from our being positive in our approach to life. A
smile goes a long way and a greeting is helpful in getting others to think
positively. Jesus' sermon is both good religiously and psychological for
all listners. Even in following the sufferings, death, and resurrection of
Jesus, the positive approach is necessary. Good Friday lasts but a day but
the Resurrection is forever. Thus following the Paschal Mysteries is not a
heavy burden nor pure religious duty. These Mysteries are to be seen as
events of grace in our lives each day. I remember one of my elderly
friends who has since died telling me several times, that she wakes up in
the morning and thanks God for giving her another day. Then to make sure,
she has her cup of coffee and reads the obituaries to make sure her name is
not there! She had a sense of humor and a positive approach to life which
cheered many people who were no way near her advanced age. I think she
caught the message of Jesus and Paul. Now she enjoys eternal life with
them. Amen.

Thursday in Ordinary Time, Week eleven, June 21, 2007:
Scripture: II Cor.11:1-11. Psalm 111. Matthew 6:7-15. Lectionary # 368:

Paul tells us to have a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. He lived this
out so well in his life that he put up with all of the calamities and
tragedies he faced. Jesus continues the Sermon on the Mount and today we
learn how he taught his followers to pray. We now have the most beautiful
prayer in our Christian Tradition, the Our Father, through this teaching of
Jesus. We can by attentively praying this prayer called the Lord's Prayer
have what Paul calls a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. However, since
we say this prayer so often we can become dulled to its importance and its
depth. Familiarity makes it so easy just to ratttle through it. We often
are just saying it rather than praying the Our Father. Perhaps, by putting
the prayer within a contextual setting will help us while praying it. The
context of the liturgy after the Eucharistic Prayer has the Lord's Prayer
just before we receive Communion. We remember that in the early churches
before Constantine, this prayer was only said by those who were baptized
and instructed in the Christian faith. In the Didache (or Teaching of the
Twelve Apostles) which was written around 95 A.D. we have this custom
clearly explained. There is also another version of the Our Father that
differs in some minor ways from that of Matthew. Here we can place
ourselves within this context as baptized members who are about to receive
Communion. The Lord's Prayer is thus a preparation for the sacrament which
orients us toward the kingdom or realm of God in the seven eschatological
petitions contained within it. For a contextual situation of devotion we
have the rosary which starts each of the mysteries with an Our Father.
Each decade thus enables us to begin with God and return to God through the
Glory be to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Contextual settings
are important for our prayers that are said in common. Thus we may be
able to place the Lord's prayer into what Paul was talking about in asking
us to have a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. Amen.

Friday in Ordinary Time, 11th week, June 22, 2007:

Scripture: II Cor.11:18, 21-30. Psalm 34. Matthew 6:19-23. Lectionary #
369:

Today's Gospel selection from St. Matthew places us in the middle of the
Sermon on the Mount (chapters 5-7). In the pericope we discover that Jesus
is telling us to be clear-sighted with the inner light of faith; we are not
to live in the darkness of sin and selfishness. This inner light is the
treasure Jesus speaks of-- a treasure of peace, joy, and the promise of
eternal life. This inner light helps us to see the living God who is the
source of our life and our hope. When a person has perfect physical vision
we acknowledge that the person is gifted with such a blessing. Among
athletes this is a great gift and one that makes for their successful
achievement in certain sports. Jesus describes such physical vision in
this manner, "If your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of
light." As I reflected on this gift, I thought of a student who was born
blind but who knows the campus where he is now a senior so well that he can
go anywhere on it that he desires. Nate has this inner vision of faith
that Jesus is talking about and his whole person vibrates with joy. He
plays the keyboard for some of the student Masses and has gone to
basketball games. He sometimes retorts when you greet him with the
expression, "Yes, it is nice to see you!" His attitude is one of joy and
enthusiasm and it challenges anyone who takes the time to consider how he
handles his daily life to make anyone feel better. If I feel sorry for
myself, I just have to think of Nate and how he lives out what Jesus is
saying about the light-- the inner light of faith vision-- in the Sermon on
the Mount. I consider Nate to be one of the bright lights in this world
who makes me think about Jesus when I turn to this part of the Sermon on
the Mount. Amen.