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 some. 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.
