Thursday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time
(II Corinthians 11:1-11; Matthew 6:7-15)
A proud Texan was telling someone he met at the airport what a great state he comes from. He said that it is such a fine place to live that at the end of Alcoholics Anonymous meetings when everyone says the Lord’s Prayer together, he changes the words to say, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in Texas.” Not everyone has such a high opinion of the Lone Star state, but there are customs and courtesies there, as everywhere, worth emulating.
Let’s go back to Jesus’ petition that the earth be more like heaven. How would it have to change to become so? Everyone could submit a list of suggestions. Here are mine. We would study the word of God more and justify our own opinions less. We would be ready to listen to others’ ideas, slow to endorse them, and reluctant to reject them completely. We would develop a helping hand, a caring heart, and a clean mind.
