We continue this week reading from the Sermon on the Mount, a summary of the teaching of Jesus found in chapters 5-7 in Matthew’s Gospel. After promising beatitudes (Mt. 5:1-16),  Jesus calls for addressing anger, lust, vengeance and our tendency to lie more deeply than we may like,  We must go beyond the scribes and pharisees in keeping God’s law, Matthew says. (Mt. 5:21-27) The Sermon on the Mount was considered the basic catechism of the Church from earliest times. It’s still teaches what we believe and hope for.

Jesus warns against giving alms to be seen and teaches prayer in chapter 6. The great prayer, the Our Father, is found in the Matthew 6: 7-15, read this Thursday. We will be quoting from S.t Cyprian, one of the greatest commentators on the teaching of Jesus on prayer.

We’re reading from the Sermon on the Mount until Friday of the 12 Week of the Year. On that day, Jesus comes down from the mountain. He enters a world that’s “troubled and abandoned.” There, people are “like sheep without a shepherd.” Even though a number of feasts interrupt the continuous reading from the Sermon on the Mount, it’s important to reflect on this important part of Matthew’s gospel.

The Nativity of John the Baptist is celebrated this Saturday.