FIRST READING
“I preached God’s Gospel without cost to you.”
A reading from the second Letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians (2 Corinthians 11:1-11)
Brethren: I wish you would bear with me in a little foolishness. Do bear with me! I feel a divine jealousy for you, for I betrothed you to Christ to present you as a pure bride to her one husband. But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. For if some one comes and preaches another Jesus than the one we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you submit to it readily enough. I think that I am not in the least inferior to these superlative apostles. Even if I am unskilled in speaking, I am not in knowledge; in every way we have made this plain to you in all things. Did I commit a sin in abasing myself so that you might be exalted, because I preached God’s gospel without cost to you? I robbed other churches by accepting support from them in order to serve you. And when I was with you and was in want, I did not burden any one, for my needs were supplied by the brethren who came from Macedonia. So I refrained and will refrain from burdening you in any way. As the truth of Christ is in me, this boast of mine shall not be silenced in the regions of Achaia. And why? Because I do not love you? God knows I do!
The word of the Lord.
RESPONSORIAL PSALM Psalm 111:1b-2.3-4.7-8 (R. 7a)
R/. The Lord’s handiwork is justice and truth.
Or: Alleluia.
I will praise the Lord with all my heart,
in the meeting of the just and the assembly.
Great are the works of the Lord,
to be pondered by all who delight in them. R.
Majestic and glorious his work;
his justice stands firm forever.
He has given us a memorial of his wonders.
The Lord is gracious and merciful. R.
R/. The Lord’s handiwork is justice and truth.
Or: Alleluia.
His handiwork is justice and truth;
his precepts are all of them sure,
standing firm forever and ever,
wrought in uprightness and truth. R.
ALLELUIA Romans 8:15bc
Alleluia. You have received the spirit of sonship; in him we cry, “Abba! Father!” Alleluia.
GOSPEL
“Pray then like this.”
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Matthew 6:7-15)
At that time: Jesus said to his disciples, “In praying do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. Pray then like this:
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.
For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father also will forgive you; but if you do not forgive men their trespasses neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
Today’s Reflection
The surest sign of the presence of the Holy Spirit is joy. In today’s Gospel, Jesus speaks to us on the basis for joy. He came to share our human life so that we might share his divine life. In the privacy of our inner life with God, we meet our heavenly father in loving intimacy when we pray to him “In secret”. In Jesus, we have the same relationship with God that he had with his heavenly Father. Our prayer – the Lord’s Prayer – is to be like the communication between a loving parent and a beloved child. This truth should be the unfailing source of our joy as Christians, in good times and in bad.