"Purity of heart in our prayer", Listen and attend with the ear of your heart.

refers to praying with sincere and unadulterated motives,

It means approaching God with an honest and open heart,

seeking His will above all else.

 

 St. Benedict, abbot

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊      　

Genesis 46:1-7, 28-30

Israel left with all he owned

And reached Beersheba where he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac.

God spoke to Israel in visions that he had during the night, "Jacob! Jacob!""Here I am," he said. "

I am God, the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go to Egypt, for there I will make you into a great nation.

I will go with you to Egypt and I will bring you back again and Joseph's hand will close your eyes."

 

Jacob left Beersheba and the sons of Israel carried Jacob their father with their little children

and their wives in the wagons that Joseph had sent to fetch him.

They also took their flocks and all that they had acquired in Canaan.

And so it was that Jacob came to Egypt and with him all his family, his sons and his grandsons,

his daughters and his granddaughters, in short all his children he took with him to Egypt.

 

Jacob sent Judah ahead to let Joseph know he was coming and that he would soon arrive in the land of Goshen.

Joseph got his chariot ready in order to meet Israel, his father, in Goshen.

He presented himself, threw his arms around his father and wept on his shoulder for a long time.

Israel said to Joseph, "Now I can die, for I have seen your face and know you are alive."

 

Ps 37:3-4, 18-19, 27-28, 39-40 The salvation of the just comes from the Lord.

 

＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊      

Matthew 10:16-23 Pool

Look, I send you out like sheep among wolves. You must be as clever as snakes and as innocent as doves.

Be on your guard with people, for they will hand you over to their courts and they will flog you in their synagogues.

You will be brought to trial before rulers and kings because of me, so that you may witness to them and the pagans.

But when you are arrested, do not worry about what you are to say, or how you are to say it;

when the hour comes, you will be given what you are to say. For it will not be you who speak,

but the Spirit of your Father, speaking through you.

 

Brother will hand over his brother to death, and a father his child;

children will turn against their parents and have them put to death.

Everyone will hate you because of me, but whoever stands firm to the end will be saved.

When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next. I tell you the truth,

you will not have passed through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.

 

Gospel Reflection ：

"Purity of heart in our prayer."

"Whoever stands firm to the end will be saved."

Today's Gospel presents us with the message that we are to persevere in trials,

trusting in God's guidance through the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Saint Benedict teaches that perseverance in trials is evidence that the desire for God is genuine.

In his Rule, Saint Benedict directs that someone wishing to join the monastery should not be admitted swiftly,

but only after a time, so that the aspirant's persistence in the face of challenge will show that the longing for God is true.

 

Therefore, "standing firm" becomes the acid test of genuine faith.

Saint Benedict combines this line from Matthew's Gospel with Psalm 27:14, encouraging us to take courage and to hope in the Lord.

In other words, the difficulties we face are not meant to discourage us,

but to encourage us in recognizing our need for the Lord. Saint Benedict also calls us to a "purity of heart" in our prayer,

since God listens to a humble and pure heart. So, we are to be like doves, but also alert to dangers.

Thus, like the snake, we are to be wise and astute in negotiating the temptations of the world.