Year of Saint Joseph
Other saints: Saint Chad (-672)
Readings of the Day
RB: Ch 25 Serious Faults
Mass: Is 1:10, 16-20; Resp Ps 50; Mt 23:1-12
To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
JESUS, MEEK AND HUMBLE OF HEART,
HAVE MERCY ON US.
Welcome to a few scattered musings to ponder. At the end of today's Gospel, Jesus tells us this: Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted (Mt 23:12). Our Lord's words led me to two of my favorite places. First, to Saint Benedict and the Holy Rule. In the Prologue, Saint Benedict quotes Saint Paul and exhorts us: "He who boasts should make his boast in the Lord" (2 Cor 10:17/RB Prologue 32). Second, to Part Four of our Catechism where we read about Christian Prayer. Among other gems we find this in paragraph 2559: "'Prayer is the raising of one's mind and heart to God or requesting good things from God.' But when we pray, do we speak from the height of our pride and will, or 'out of the depths' of a humble and contrite heart? He who humbles himself will be exalted; humility is the foundation of prayer. Only when we humbly acknowledge that 'we do not know how to pray as we ought,' are we ready to receive freely the gift of prayer. 'Man is a beggar before God."
Prayer offered in holiness from a faithful heart rises like incense from a holy altar.
(From a commentary on the psalms by Saint Augustine, Office of Readings, Tuesday, Second Week of Lent)
SAINT JOSEPH,
SAINT CHAD,
PRAY FOR US.
© Gertrude Feick 2021
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