FrNikola

11th Week of Ordinary Time, Friday, Year II

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It’s no coincidence that Our Lord’s teaching regarding our hearts and our sight in today’s Gospel are linked. The First Reading shows that Ataliah’s ambition to seize the throne upon her son’s death blinded her to the fact that someone could overthrow her just as easily, and that she wasn’t entitled to the “treasure” of the throne. If we treasure things wrongly in our hearts, instead of treasuring the Lord and his interests, sooner or later we will be blinded by our vices and prevented from seeing our evil or others’ good.

Jehosheba, Joash and Jehoida knew who the Lord meant to rule Israel, and to rule it for the good of Israel, not just the selfish ambitions of one person. They put their faith and their treasure in God, and when the Lord helped them recover Joash’s rightful throne, the covenant with the Lord was renewed and the worship of false gods overthrown, all to the benefit of Israel.

Society today often applauds ambition, but Our Lord reminds us today that the only ambition we should pursue is to love him and help as many other people as possible treasure him in their hearts. Let’s ask Our Lord today to help us treasure him and see clearly in everything to which we aspire in life.

Readings: 2 Kings 11:1–4, 9–18, 20; Psalm 132:11–14, 17–18; Matthew 6:19–23. See also 11th Week in Ordinary Time, Friday.

11th Week of Ordinary Time, Thursday, Year II

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Today’s First Reading is part of a recap by Sirach of all the great figures in the history of Israel. In the case of the prophets Elijah and Elisha, whom we’ve considered in the First Readings over the last week, the focus is largely on the wondrous deeds they performed, but their also on audacity in proclaiming the Word of God, even when it implied sacrifice and hardship.

Each Christian is called to carry on the mission of the prophets; we may not have as many miracles at our disposal, but we are sustained by grace to boldly communicate God’s Word to all sectors of society, and to reflect that Word in our lives. We don’t just share it with believers, just as the prophets were often sent to the incredulous or lapsed to bring them to the faith. Similarly, we should show great magnanimity in sharing the Word. The Spirit of the Lord worked through the prophets, and the Holy Spirit works through us as well.

Let’s ask the Holy Spirit today to inspire us to share the Word of God with everyone we meet.

Readings: Sirach 48:1–14; Psalm 97:1–7; Matthew 6:7–15. See also 1st Week of Lent, Tuesday and 11th Week in Ordinary Time, Thursday.

11th Week of Ordinary Time, Wednesday, Year II

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In today’s Gospel Our Lord reminds us that spiritual practices like prayer, fasting, and alms giving are meant for him, not for publicity. He suggests ways to ensure our purity of intention: by donating without fanfare, fasting without letting anyone see you sweat it, and praying without making it a public display. In this way we are showing that those acts of devotion are between us and God, no one else.

Even if we do those acts away from prying eyes we can involve others the right way: by offering up our donations, fasting, and prayers for them and for their intentions. We can also offer them to God simply to thank him for all the blessings he has bestowed on us and others.

Let’s ask Our Lord today to help us pray without ceasing for the benefit of him and others.

Readings: 2 Kings 2:1, 6–14; Psalm 31:20–21, 24; Matthew 6:1–6, 16–18. See also Ash Wednesday and 11th Week in Ordinary Time, Wednesday.

11th Week of Ordinary Time, Tuesday, Year II

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In today’s Gospel Our Lord invites us to strive for perfection in our love. The rain is a good for everyone who receives its benefits, regardless of whether they “deserve” it or not. What if the rain stopped being good? If it became acid rain, it would no longer would be good. Through our charity or lack of charity we can go from rain to acid rain and must persevere in charity even when it feels that we’re getting burned.

The Lord acts in today’s First Reading in regard to King Ahab and his corrupt wife because if the king is not just, there can be no justice in his realm: the “rain” that was meant to benefit everyone in the kingdom and became “acid rain”: a good became evil and had to be stopped. King Ahab eliminated Naboth’s entire bloodline unjustly for the sake of one piece of property. In justice King Ahab’s bloodline must be eliminated for becoming worse than one of the peoples, the Amorites, who occupied the Promised Land before the Israelite’s occupied it. Just as the Amorites were cast out, so Ahab’s bloodline must be cast out.

If we suffer injustice, the Lord will make justice prevail, sooner or later. Let’s have faith in the Lord’s justice and not let the evil of others turn us from being a source of good to a source of iniquity. Charity always prevails in the long run.

Readings: 1 Kings 21:17–29; Psalm 51:3–6b, 11, 16; Matthew 5:43–48. See also 1st Week of Lent, Saturday, 23rd Week in Ordinary Time, Thursday, and 11th Week in Ordinary Time, Tuesday.

11th Week of Ordinary Time, Monday, Year II

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In today’s First Reading King Ahab’s desire to acquire some adjacent property to his palace seems innocuous enough, but for an Israelite land is birthright: a family’s property represents a portion of the Promised Land given by the Lord, and giving something up like that is not something to be done lightly. Ahab is thinking of expansion and landscaping, Naboth is thinking of birthright and his family’s inheritance. Ahab doesn’t understand and starts to pout instead of reflecting on how superficial, jaded, and selfish his offer was.

What follows through the machinations of his wife Jezebel shows an eclipse of justice in Samaria: Jezebel finds officials and personnel to falsely accuse and execute Naboth without outcries by anyone. Naboth, for defending his birthright, forfeits his life, and the rights to the land remit back to the king. The king himself should represent justice in his kingdom, but Ahab goes along with his wife’s plan without any qualms. Now the Lord must take justice into his own hands because the King, his anointed, does not. We’ll soon see the consequences of Ahab’s decision.

Let’s draw the lesson from this sad story of the importance of loving our neighbor as ourselves.

Readings: 1 Kings 21:1–16; Psalm 5:2–3b, 4b–7; Matthew 5:38–42. See also 11th Week in Ordinary Time, Monday.