On the website ‘The Word’ you will find a daily dose of Dominican preaching from members of the whole Dominican family. Lay Dominican Ruth Anne Henderson, O.P. contributes to this way of preaching regular.
Born and raised in Scotland, she was a university teacher in Wales until moving in 1979 to Italy, where until her recent retirement she was a professor of English Language at the University of Turin. She was President of the European Council of Lay Dominican Fraternities from May 2011 to May 2014, and is now lay assistant to the Promoter General of Dominican Laity, Br Rui Carlos Lopes.
Her homily is based on the gospel of St. Matthew 6:1-6,16-18
Concerning Almsgiving
‘Beware of practising your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven. ‘So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your alms may be done in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
Concerning Prayer
‘And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
Concerning Fasting
‘And whenever you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces so as to show others that they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that your fasting may be seen not by others but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
