Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness.
The kingdom of God is the reward of good works;

＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊  

Sirach 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.

 

Ps 97:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7

Rejoice in the Lord just!

 

   ＊＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊＊

Matthew 6:7-15

 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 our daily bread. 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.

 

Gospel Reflection：

Khalil Gibran writes thus in The Prophet:

“You talk when you cease to be at peace with your thoughts; And when you can no longer dwell in the solitude of your heart, you live in your lips, and sound is a diversion and a pastime. And in much of your talking, thinking is half murdered.”

The same can be applied to prayer as well. Does our prayer become a defence against knowing ourselves and God; a defence against letting ourselves be known and found out by God? God knows us in and out anyway, with our needs, frustrations, with our needs, frustrations, hopes, fears sins, and dreams.

 

Why waste so many words? It is enough that we sit in his presence. With minimal words. With maximal silence. Expressing our love and needs with wordless words. As two lovers.