*** 1st Reading ***

2 kings 4:8-11, 14-16a

One day Elisha went to Shu­nem,

And a rich woman invited him to eat. Afterwards, whenever he went to that town, he would go to her house to eat.  The woman said to her husband, “See, this man who constantly passes by our house is a holy man of God. If you want, we can make a small upper room for him, and place a bed, a table, a chair and a lamp in it. So when he comes, he may stay and rest.”

 One day when Elisha came, he went to the upper room and lay down. So Elisha said to Gehazi, “What can we do for her?” The young man answered, “She has no children and her husband is now old.”

 And so Elisha said to him, “Call her.” The young man called her and as the woman stood by the door, Elisha said, “By this time next year, you will hold a son in your arms.” She answered, “No, my lord, O man of God, you are deceiving your maidservant.”

 

Ps 89:2-3, 16-17, 18-19(2a)

Forever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.

 

*** 2nd Reading ***

Romans 6:3-4, 8-11

Don’t you know, that in baptism which unites us to Christ we are all baptized and plunged into his death?  By this baptism in his death, we were buried with Christ and, as Christ was raised from among the dead by the Glory of the Father, so we begin walking in a new life.

 But if we have died with Christ, we believe we will also live with him. We know that Christ, once risen from the dead, will not die again and death has no more dominion over him.  For by dying, he is dead to sin once and for all, and now the life that he lives is life with God.

 

**** Gospel ****

Matthew 10:37-42

 Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.  And whoever does not take up his cross and come after me is not worthy of me.   One who wants to benefit from his life will lose it; one who loses his life for my sake will find it.

 Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes him who sent me.   The one who welcomes a prophet as a prophet will receive the reward of a prophet; the one who welcomes a just man because he is a just man will receive the reward of a just man.   

And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones, because he is a disciple of mine, I assure you, he will not go unre­warded.”

 

Gospel Reflection

Read:

In the first reading, the prophet Elisha is shown great hospitality by the wealthy woman from shunem who had no child and whose husband was old. By the end of the reading, Elisha has promised her a son.

The second reading tells us that if we have died with Christ we will also share his golry. And in the Gospel, Jesus tells us that the good we do especially for those who need will surely be rewarded.

Reflect:

Nothing surpasses the generosity of God. He is never miserly. His abundance and his goodness flows to all of his creation, most especially to us, his children, no matter how weak and sinful we are.

His sun shines and his rain falls on both the good and bad. At the same time, it is also true that those who give to him generously, who commit their whole lives to serving him, receive a recompense that is beyond anything they can imagine, in this life and in the next.

"Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap.”(LK. 6:38) ,For, “God loves a generous giver.”(2Cor. 9:7)

Pray:

Lord, let me give of myself completely, to you, to the people I love and serve. Let me not count the cost, for loving you and your people is reward in itself.

Act:

Go and check your closets and drawers and go over your old clothes and belongings. Take what you no longer use and no longer need and donate it to the poor. And say a prayer of thanks to the Lord for giving you the gift of generosity.