Catholic Daily Mass Readings and Reflections June 15, 2022
Reading 1, Second Kings 2:1, 6-14
1 This is what happened when Yahweh took Elijah up to heaven in the whirlwind: Elijah and Elisha set out from Gilgal,
6 Elijah said, ‘Elisha, you stay here, Yahweh is only sending me to the Jordan.’ But he replied, ‘As Yahweh lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you!’ And they went on together.
7 Fifty of the brotherhood of prophets followed them, halting some distance away as the two of them stood beside the Jordan.
8 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.
9 When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, ‘Make your request. What can I do for you before I am snatched away from you?’ Elisha answered, ‘Let me inherit a double share of your spirit.’
10 ‘Your request is difficult,’ Elijah said. ‘If you see me while I am being snatched away from you, it will be as you ask; if not, it will not be so.’
11 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.
12 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 own clothes he tore them in half.
13 He picked up Elijah’s cloak which had fallen, and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan.
14 He took Elijah’s cloak and struck the water. ‘Where is Yahweh, the God of Elijah?’ he cried. As he struck the water it divided to right and left, and Elisha crossed over.
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 31:20, 21, 24
20 Safe in your presence you hide them, far from human plotting, shielding them in your tent, far from contentious tongues.
21 Blessed be Yahweh who works for me miracles of his faithful love (in a fortified city)!
24 Be brave, take heart, all who put your hope in Yahweh.
Gospel, Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18
1 ‘Be careful not to parade your uprightness in public to attract attention; otherwise you will lose all reward from your Father in heaven.
2 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 human admiration. In truth I tell you, they have had their reward.
3 But when you give alms, your left hand must not know what your right is doing;
4 your almsgiving must be secret, and your Father who sees all that is done in secret will reward you.
5 ‘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. In truth I tell you, they have had their reward.
6 But when you pray, go to your private room, shut yourself in, and so pray to your Father who is in that secret place, and your Father who sees all that is done in secret will reward you.
16 ‘When you are fasting, do not put on a gloomy look as the hypocrites do: they go about looking unsightly to let people know they are fasting. In truth I tell you, they have had their reward.
17 But when you fast, put scent on your head and wash your face,
18 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.
