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 blessings (Mt. 5:1-16),  Jesus calls for addressing anger, lust, vengeance and our tendency to lie,  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 to 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 St. Cyprian, one of the greatest commentators on Jesus teaching on prayer. This is a good week for reviewing how we pray.

We’re reading from the Sermon on the Mount until Friday of the 12 Week of the Year. On that day, Jesus goes down from the mountain and enters a world that’s “troubled and abandoned,” People are “like sheep without a shepherd.” Some feasts interrupt the continuous reading from the Sermon on the Mount, but this week there are no major feasts. Time to reflect on this important part of Matthew’s gospel.