Today’s readings invite us to reflect on the importance of sincerity—both in our prayer life and in our faithfulness to Christ. In the first reading, Paul passionately urges the community in Corinth to accept him with love and humility. He reminds them that his love for them is genuine, rooted in his desire for their salvation and fidelity to the Gospel. Paul defends his ministry, emphasizing that his actions—preaching without charge, working to support himself—are signs of his sincere love and commitment. He warns against being misled by false teachers who preach a different Jesus, a different Spirit, and a different Gospel, and I would add, especially those who do it for their own selfish gain under the guise of a prosperity gospel. Saint Paul’s heartfelt plea was that the Corinthians remain faithful and true to the Gospel he had preached.
This call to sincerity is echoed in today’s Gospel, where Jesus teaches us about prayer. He cautions against babbling empty words or using many to impress God. We should always remember that the goal of prayer is not to impress God. After all, how can a mere mortal being impress an infinite and omnipotent Creator. You would have to be able to produce something infinitely extraordinary to impress him, and yet we cannot. What we can do however, is keep our link with him. Stay plugged into – as it were – his grace. This is what prayer does, and what continual prayer strengthens… our bond with him, and it is very different than trying to impress him.
That said, we do know that our faith pleases him. Again, nothing to do with impressing anyone. It pleases him. When we turn our hearts and minds to him, he is pleased. And how about when he is not pleased with us? Does he love us less? No. He loves us infinitely and absolutely and unconditionally at all times and for eternity, but this does not negate his pleasure or displeasure in our actions. A father watching his child excel in school can be pleased, and when he catches the same child lying to him, there is displeasure. Yet never does he stop loving his child. So too it is with God. In fact, created in His image we have been given this capacity for being pleased or displeased with the actions of others.
God loves prayer. He loves when we delve deep into what he has done for us. He loves when we sincerely speak to him, and spend time with him. Yet we all know how very distracted we are in this world. He knows we are also sick of the deceptions and the pride which dominate our cultures globally. This is why in today’s gospel, Jesus urges us to approach our Father with trust, simplicity, and humility. Our heavenly Father already knows what we need before we ask, so true prayer is about opening our hearts, trusting in His love, and communicating honestly with Him knowing that God is truth, and in him there is no darkness.
Both readings challenge us to examine how we approach God and how we live our faith. Are our prayers genuine? Do we speak to God with honesty and trust, or do we try to put on an act for God? Are we living faithfully, not just outwardly, but from the heart, committed to following Christ with sincerity? Like Paul, we are called to love with authenticity and to remain faithful amid challenges and false teachings that may lead us astray.
May the Holy Spirit strengthen us to pray with authenticity and to walk faithfully in the truth. Let us always trust that God, who knows our hearts and loves us notwithstanding our sins of the past, will always be with us, and therefore we can speak to him with confidence and joy. May you be blessed always, in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Our Lady, Queen of Peace, pray for us who have recourse to thee. Amen.
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