The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today exhort us to open our hearts more fully to God through the ancient practices of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.
Transfuse life in Quiet Acts
The reading from the Second Letter of Paul to the Corinthians declares the one who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.
* [9:8–10] The behavior to which he exhorts them is grounded in God’s own pattern of behavior. God is capable of overwhelming generosity, as scripture itself attests (2 Cor 9:9), so that they need not fear being short. He will provide in abundance, both supplying their natural needs and increasing their righteousness. Paul challenges them to godlike generosity and reminds them of the fundamental motive for encouragement: God himself cannot be outdone.1
Psalm 112 celebrates the blessings of the righteous.
* [Psalm 112] An acrostic poem detailing the blessings received by those who remain close to God by obedience to the commandments. Among their blessings are children (Ps 112:2), wealth that enables them to be magnanimous (Ps 112:3, 5, 9), and virtue by which they encourage others (Ps 112:4). The just person is an affront to the wicked, whose hopes remain unfulfilled (Ps 112:10). The logic resembles Ps 1; 111.2
In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus teaches in the Sermon on the Mount concerning Almsgiving Prayer and Fasting.
* [6:1–18] The sermon continues with a warning against doing good in order to be seen and gives three examples, almsgiving (Mt 6:2–4), prayer (Mt 6:5–15), and fasting (Mt 6:16–18). In each, the conduct of the hypocrites (Mt 6:2) is contrasted with that demanded of the disciples. The sayings about reward found here and elsewhere (Mt 5:12, 46; 10:41–42) show that this is a genuine element of Christian moral exhortation. Possibly to underline the difference between the Christian idea of reward and that of the hypocrites, the evangelist uses two different Greek verbs to express the rewarding of the disciples and that of the hypocrites; in the latter case it is the verb apechō, a commercial term for giving a receipt for what has been paid in full (Mt 6:2, 5, 16).3
Steve Scholer suggests the hidden message in this passage is not to shy away from being generous, from good works and righteous deeds, but rather, to not expect to be recognized for them.
We all need to continue to do what we do for our loved ones, our neighbors, the poor and our church because it is the right thing to do; and not for the hope of being singled out as a nice person, a generous person or someone who is kind and considerate. We need to do these good and righteous deeds as a way to honor God. Going forward, let’s not watch who gives or does not give at Mass or who sits in the front row, but rather, let’s focus on what each and every one of us is doing on a daily basis — without any expectation of public recognition or expressions of gratitude — to live our faith-filled life in service to God and others.4
Don Schwager quotes “Pray with the angels,” by John Chrysostom, 547-407 A.D.
"When you pray, it is as if you were entering into a palace - not a palace on earth, but far more awesome, a palace in heaven. When you enter there, you do so with complete attentiveness and fitting respect. For in the houses of kings all turmoil is set aside, and silence reigns. Yet here you are being joined by choirs of angels. You are in communion with archangels and singing with the seraphim, who sing with great awe their spiritual hymns and sacred songs to God, the Lord of all. So when you are praying, mingle with these voices, patterning yourself according to their mystical order. It is not to human beings that you are praying but to God, who is present everywhere, who hears even before you speak and who knows already the secrets of the heart. If you pray to this One, you shall receive a great reward. 'For your Father who sees in secret shall reward you openly.' He did not merely say he would give it to you but reward you, as if he himself had made a pledge to you and so honored you with a great honor. Because God himself is hidden, your prayer should be hidden." (excerpt from THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW, HOMILY 19.3)5
The Word Among Us Meditation on 2 Corinthians 9:6-11 comments that God invites us to rely on him. Not only does he want us to ask for his help, but he also wants us to believe that he is able to help us. All it takes is a simple prayer.
“Lord, I can’t do this without you, but with your grace I can accomplish whatever you are asking of me.” Today, where do you need God’s grace? Don’t hesitate to ask him to help you in every task or challenge you face, no matter how minor it seems to you. Then trust that God will give it to you—in abundance! “Lord, open my eyes and heart to more of your grace.”6
Friar Jude Winkler comments that the generosity of the Corinthians for the poor in Palestine will open their hearts to God. When the Temple was destroyed, the rabbis recommended prayer, fasting, and almsgiving to transfuse life into the faithful. Friar Jude explains the apparent contradiction in Jesus' message about public and private action in faith.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, comments two Christian mystics St. Francis of Assisi and St. Thérèse of Lisieux have helped him to escape the trap of perfectionism which always leads to an entrenched shadow. The wise Benedictine Brother David Steindl-Rast describes this common ploy.
You can get out of that trap if you come back to the core of the Christian tradition, to the real message of Jesus. You find him, for instance, saying, “Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect” [Matthew 5:48]. Yet he makes it clear that this is not the perfection of suppressing the darkness, but the perfection of integrated wholeness. That’s the way Matthew puts it in the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus talks of our Father in heaven who lets the sun shine on the good and the bad, and lets the rain fall on the just and the unjust alike [see Matthew 5:45]. It’s both the rain and the sun, not only the sun. And it’s both the just and the unjust. Jesus stresses the fact that God obviously allows the interplay of shadow and light. God approves of it. If God’s perfection allows for tensions to work themselves out, who are we to insist on a perfection in which all tensions are suppressed? . . .7
Our piety, self sacrifice, and generosity will serve the Will of God as we respond to the promptings of the Spirit on our journey.
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