Mass Readings for : Wednesday, 19th June, 2024

Liturgical Readings for : Wednesday, 19th June, 2024

Wednesday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time, Year 2

Optional memorials of St Romuald, abbot
Bl Dermot O’Hurley, bishop and Companions, martyrs

FIRST READINGs

A reading from the second Book of Kings 2: 1, 6-14
A chariot of fire appeared and Elijah went up to heaven in the whirlwind.

This is what happened when the Lord took Elijah up to heaven in the whirlwind:
Elijah and Elisha set out from Gilgal.
Elijah said, ‘Elisha, please stay here, The Lord is only sending me to the Jordan’.
But he replied,
‘As the Lord lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you!’
And they went on together.

Fifty of the brotherhood of prophets followed them, halting some distance away as the two of them stood beside the Jordan. Elijah took his cloak, rolled it up and struck the water; and the water divided to left and right, and the two of them crossed over dry-shod.

When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha,
‘Make your request. What can I do for you before I am taken from you?’
Elisha answered,
‘Let me inherit a double share of your spirit’.
‘Your request is a difficult one’ Elijah said. ‘If you see me while I am being taken from you, it shall be as you ask;
if not, it will not be so.

‘Now as they walked on, talking as they went, a chariot of fire appeared and horses of fire, coming between the two of them; and Elijah went up to heaven in the whirlwind. Elisha saw it, and shouted,
‘My father! My father! Chariot of Israel and its chargers!’
Then he lost sight of him, and taking hold of his clothes he tore them in half. He picked up the cloak of Elijah which had fallen, and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan.

He took the cloak of Elijah and struck the water.
‘Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?‘ he cried.
He struck the water, and it divided to right and left, and Elisha crossed over.

The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 30
Response Let your heart take courage, all who hope in the Lord.

1. How great is the goodness, Lord, that you keep for those who fear you,
that you show to those who trust you in the sight of men. Response

2. You hide them in the shelter of your presence from the plotting of men:
you keep them safe within your tent from disputing tongues. Response

3. Love the Lord, all you saints. He guards his faithful
but the Lord will repay to the full those who act with pride. Response

Gospel Acclamation Col 3: 16. 17
Alleluia, Alleluia!
Let the message of Christ, in all its richness, find a home with you;
through him give thanks to God the Father.
Alleluia!

Or Jn 14: 23
Alleluia, Alleluia!
If anyone loves me he will keep my word,
and my Father will love him, and we shall come to him.
Alleluia!

GOSPEL

The Lord be with you. And with your spirit
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew 6:1-6. 16-18 Glory to you, O Lord
Your Father who sees all that is done in secret will reward you.

Jesus said to his disciples:
‘Be careful not to parade your good deeds before men to attract their notice; by doing this you will lose all reward from your Father in heaven. So when you give alms, do not have it trumpeted before you; this is what the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets to win men’s admiration.
I tell you solemnly, they have had their reward. But when you give alms, your left hand must not know what your right is doing; your alms giving must be secret, and your Father who sees all that is done in secret will reward you.

‘And when you pray, do not imitate the hypocrites: they love to say their prayers standing up in the synagogues and at the street corners for people to see them;
I tell you solemnly, they have had their reward. But when you pray, go to your private room and, when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in that secret place, and your Father who sees all that is done in secret will reward you.

‘When you fast do not put on a gloomy look as the hypocrites do: they pull long faces to let men know they are fasting.
I tell you solemnly, they have had their reward. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that no one will know you are fasting except your Father who sees all that is done in secret;
and your Father who sees all that is done in secret will reward you.

The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

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Gospel Reflection Wednesday Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18

In Murder in the Cathedral T.S. Eliot has Thomas Beckett say, ‘The last temptation is the greatest treason, To do the right thing for the wrong reason’. In today’s gospel reading, Jesus is concerned with the tendency of religious people to do the right thing for the wrong reason. Almsgiving, prayer and fasting were important Jewish practices, which Jesus valued. However, he warns against doing them for the wrong reason, in order to attract the notice of others, thereby receiving recognition and honour for oneself. Practices which seem God-centred and other-centred can be, in reality, self-serving. Writing to the church in Philippi from prison, Paul declares, ‘These proclaim Christ out of love, knowing that I have been put here for the defence of the gospel; the others proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but intending to increase my suffering in my imprisonment’.

Even the preaching of the gospel can become self-serving. Yet, Paul asks, ‘What does it matter?’ and answers, ‘Just this, that Christ is proclaimed in every way, whether out of false motives or true’. Paul is suggesting that the preaching of Christ can touch the hearts of others, even if done out of selfish ambition. He seems to be implying that doing the right thing for the wrong reason is better than not doing the right thing. Yet, he clearly favours doing the right thing for the right reason. It is always good to ask ourselves, ‘Why am I doing what I am doing?’ ‘Who is being served here?’ ‘Is my giving ultimately with a view to getting?’ In his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul declares that ‘if I give away all my possessions… but do not have love, I gain nothing’. It is the self-emptying love of Christ in our lives, the fruit of the Holy Spirit, that gives value to all we say and do.