Preparing for Consecration
Preliminary, Day 2: Matthew 5:48, 6:1-15
Spirit of the World
Spend this period casting off the spirit of the world which is contrary to that of Jesus Christ.
Reflection
Read and reflect on the scripture passages below. The Word of God challenges us today to make quiet offerings to God. What offerings do we make each day? Do we serve him quietly or publicly? We can be confident in our service to the Lord, confident that even the smallest and least notable offering, whether it is a physical service or an act of forgiveness, is honored by him and serves his Body, the Church, and with more perfection than we can even imagine. – Bernadette Harmon
Matthew 5:47-48
47 And if you greet your brothers only, what is unusual about that? Do not the pagans do the same? 48 So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Matthew 6:1-15
Teaching About Almsgiving
1 Take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them; otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father. 2 When you give alms, do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets to win the praise of others. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. 3 But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right is doing, 4 so that your almsgiving may be secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.
Teaching About Prayer
5 When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on street corners so that others may see them. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. 6 But when you pray, go to your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you. 7 In praying, do not babble like the pagans, who think that they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them. Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
The Lord’s Prayer
9 This is how you are to pray:
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,
10 your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven.
11 Give us today our daily bread;
12 and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors;
13 and do not subject us to the final test, but deliver us from the evil one.
14 If you forgive others their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your transgressions.