Daily Reflection | Gospel Reading | RVA

Gospel: Matthew 6:19-23
Do not store up treasures for yourself here, on earth, where moth and rust destroy it; and where thieves can steal it. Store up treasures for yourself with God, where no moth or rust can destroy it, nor thief come and steal it.For where your treasures is, there, also, will your heart be. The lamp of the body is the eye; if your eyes are sound, your whole body will be full of light. If your eyes are diseased, your whole body will be full of darkness. If, then, the light in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

Reflections
“Store up treasures for yourself with God.”Treasures are our valuables. They may be difficult to accumulate. We have to work hard. But we can easily lose them because of bad elements lurking around us like insects or thieves. So Jesus highly recommends that we consider storing up spiritual treasures that cannot be taken away from us. As long as we are alive, we do not worry about their loss. We bring them wherever we go. What are these treasures?Again these are not material riches, like money, gold, jewelries that can be counted, weighed in scales or time deposited, but the joy that proceeds from listening to the Word of God. These treasures are also our spiritual insights that give us proper perspective to the world around us and give us hints how to deal with other peo­ple justly and mercifully.The eye or other senses of our body can be our material treasures. We have to take care of them. We enjoy life because we have good taste buds, we hear beautiful music, we see the beauty of people around us, we feel the tender touch of our loved ones.Faith is our ultimate treasure. When we lose it, our world becomes totally dark.
© Copyright Bible Diary 2019

Gospel: Matthew 6:7-15
When you pray, do not use a lot of words, as the pagans do; for they believe 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, your will, be done on earth, as in heaven.Give us today, our daily bread. Forgive us our debts,as we forgive 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 wrongdoings, your Father in heaven will also forgive yours. If you do not forgive others,then your Father will not forgive you.

Reflections
“When you pray, do not use a lot of words.”Jesus teaches his disciples how to pray. When praying, they should not imitate the noisy style of the pagans who think God is insensitive to their needs.The Father listens to this kind of prayer, which we entitle, the “Lord’s Prayer.”We use this prayer in our devotions and Eucharistic celebrations.It is noteworthy to observe the center of the prayer. It is the petition of the daily wage earner who makes it possible to procure daily bread, or in old English, bread for the morrow (for tomorrow) for his family. When he is assured of the bread for the next day, it means he has a good sleep the night before. He does not worry about the food of his family next day when he leaves again for work.Another point to consider is the importance of forgiveness. The word “forgive” occurs two times in the prayer and four times in the paragraph after the prayer.
© Copyright Bible Diary 2019

Gospel: Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18
Be careful not to make a show of your good deeds before people. If you do so, you do not gain anything from your Father in heaven. When you give something to the poor, do not have it trumpeted before you, as do those who want to be noticed in the synagogues and in the streets, in order to be praised by people. I assure you, they have their reward.If you give something to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your gift remains really secret. Your Father, who sees what is kept secret, will reward you.When you pray, do not be like those who want to be noticed. They love to stand and pray in the synagogues or on street corners, in order to be seen by everyone. I assure you, they have their reward. When you pray, go into your room, close the door, and pray to your Father who is with you in secret; and your Father who sees what is kept secret will re ward you.When you fast, do not put on a miserable face, as do the hypocrites. They put on a gloomy face, so that people can see they are fasting. I tell you this: they have been paid in full already. When you fast, wash your face and make yourself look cheerful, because you are not fasting for appearances or for people, but for your Father, who sees beyond appearances. And your Father, who sees what is kept secret, will reward you.

Reflections
“Be careful not to make a show of your good deeds before people.”Jesus wants his disciples to puri­fy their motives when they do good things. Doing them without proper motivation is not meritorious.Nowadays we have penchant for showing off the little things we do because of the cheap social media. There we can advertise ourselves without cost. Other people take pictures of us and post them easily in the parish or personal social media account or in the newsletter, without our permission.It has become hard to distin­guish between giving plain information and satisfying our narcissistic tendencies. Here we have to discern where we are really coming from when we get involved in charitable activities.We have to admit that many good things are happening in our parishes without being trumpeted. The parishioners feed the indigent children without taking pictures. Some take photos with their mo­bile phones but keep them for personal use. Others are engaged in medical and dental mission in the far ­flung areas focused on their work, without bringing video cams and camera.Those who work quietly do meritorious jobs in the Lord’s eyes.
© Copyright Bible Diary 2019

Gospel: Matthew 5:43-48
You have heard, that it was said: Love your neighbor and do not do good to your enemy. But this I tell you: love your enemies; and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in Heaven. For he makes his sun rise on both the wicked and the good; and he gives rain to both the just and the unjust.If you love those who love you, what is special about that? Do not even tax collectors do as much? And if you are friendly only to your friends, what is so exceptional about that? Do not even the pagans do as much? As for you, be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Reflections
“As for you, be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”Jesus makes another exhorta­tion which is hard to swallow. It is loving one’s enemies. We can imagine that his listeners were re­ acting as he was saying this thing, like “turning the other cheek.”But Jesus does not stop issuing such statement. He con­tinues to motivate them. He e­ minds them of the magnanimity of the Father who is not selective in extending his blessings. He uses the imagery of the sun and the rain that benefit all.Jesus also reasons out that lo­ving one’s enemy brings them to a higher level of existence. Limiting love to only those who love us is living like the tax collectors and other sinners. His disciples must exhibit an outstanding behavior. They must outdo the pagans who are nice only to their friends.At the end, Jesus gives them the ultimate reason for doing something more than usual: to be perfect like the Father.Perfection is not about preci­sion, flawlessness or getting a one hundred percent score, but the ability to extend one’s heart even to those who are not pleasant in one’s sight. It is going beyond our own pride and established beliefs to be able reach out to others.
© Copyright Bible Diary 2019