June 18, 2026 // Thursday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time
Read the Word // Open your Bible to today’s Gospel: Matthew 6:7-15
Reflect on the Word //
Arms thrust heavenward he boldly declared, “Lord you are good, great, and almighty; and I am nothing, weak, and pitiful.” Father was being a little overly dramatic in his preaching this particular day. He even threw in a fake British accent for effect.
We Sisters weren’t quite sure how to react, but the drama certainly drove his point home: “Sisters, that’s not how the Saints prayed. The Saints got real with God.” We were in the midst of our immediate preparation for final vows, being exhorted to give God our authentic selves—who we truly are and not who we thought He wanted us to be.
I can be tempted in prayer to ensure I’m saying, doing, asking, or sharing the correct things with the Lord. Sometimes, it looks like I am trying to make my journal entries sound like something out of Saint Thérèse’s Story of a Soul or Saint Catherine of Siena’s Dialogue. Then I realize, that’s not me. The Lord doesn’t want to hear my best imitation of the Saints, He wants to hear from me. He wants to hear my heart from me, even, if I’m being honest, “me” sounds a little raw, unpolished, confused, and vulnerable.
“Do not babble like the pagans, who think they will be heard because of their many words. [. . .] Your Father knows what you need before you ask Him” (Matthew 6:7-8). The Lord doesn’t need me to come to Him with the perfect words of praise or expression of my needs. He just wants my heart as it is, with all its needs, imperfections, desires, love, and gratitude. As it is. Period.
Prayer isn’t about our crafting the perfect formula so that God will hear and answer. Prayer is about an honest expression of the heart. Bring the good, the bad, and the ugly.
When we pray, let us be simple. We call upon a God Who looks, not for the right phrases, but for the purity of our hearts seeking, above all, to love Him, and to be loved by Him, Who is our Heavenly Father. Let’s be real with God!
Relate to the Lord // Speak to Jesus from your heart today with honesty and vulnerability because He is a Living Person Who wants a relationship with the real you.
