Today’s Readings – Tuesday of Week 11 of Ordinary Time - First Reading

Commentary on 2 Corinthians 8:1-9

Paul now moves on to a very different topic, namely, the question of collecting funds to help poorer communities, especially that of Jerusalem.

We are told in Acts that the church at Antioch in Syria sent Paul and Barnabas to Jerusalem with material relief (Acts 11:27-30). Later, Paul organised a relief project for Jerusalem among the churches he had evangelised and founded. Chapters 8 and 9 of 2 Corinthians contain what seem to be two letters about this. In them, Paul not only urges the churches to give help, but also lays out the deeper meaning of this exercise. It is both an act of charity and an expression of unity between the churches.

The first 24 verses of chapter 8 (of which we only read the first 9 today), form a letter of recommendation … Continue

Yesterday’s Readings – Monday of Week 11 of Ordinary Time - First Reading

Commentary on 2 Corinthians 6:1-10

Paul continues the defence of his ministry against critics among the Christians of Corinth and speaks both eloquently and movingly about his experiences in working for the gospel. In the Greek, our reading is a single long sentence, incorporating a quo … Continue