OCTOBER 16, 2013 : WEDNESDAY OF THE TWENTY-EIGHTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

Wednesday of the Twenty-eighth Week in Ordinary Time 
Lectionary: 469

Reading 1ROM 2:1-11

You, O man, are without excuse, every one of you who passes judgment.
For by the standard by which you judge another you condemn yourself,
since you, the judge, do the very same things.
We know that the judgment of God on those who do such things is true.
Do you suppose, then, you who judge those who engage in such things
and yet do them yourself,
that you will escape the judgment of God?
Or do you hold his priceless kindness, forbearance, and patience
in low esteem, unaware that the kindness of God
would lead you to repentance?
By your stubbornness and impenitent heart,
you are storing up wrath for yourself
for the day of wrath and revelation
of the just judgment of God,
who will repay everyone according to his works,
eternal life to those who seek glory, honor, and immortality
through perseverance in good works,
but wrath and fury to those who selfishly disobey the truth
and obey wickedness.
Yes, affliction and distress will come upon everyone
who does evil, Jew first and then Greek.
But there will be glory, honor, and peace for everyone
who does good, Jew first and then Greek.
There is no partiality with God.

Responsorial PsalmPS 62:2-3, 6-7, 9

R. (13b) Lord, you give back to everyone according to his works.
Only in God is my soul at rest;
from him comes my salvation.
He only is my rock and my salvation,
my stronghold; I shall not be disturbed at all.
R. Lord, you give back to everyone according to his works.
Only in God be at rest, my soul,
for from him comes my hope.
He only is my rock and my salvation,
my stronghold; I shall not be disturbed.
R. Lord, you give back to everyone according to his works.
Trust in him at all times, O my people!
Pour out your hearts before him;
God is our refuge!
R. Lord, you give back to everyone according to his works.

GospelLK 11:42-46

The Lord said:
“Woe to you Pharisees!
You pay tithes of mint and of rue and of every garden herb,
but you pay no attention to judgment and to love for God.
These you should have done, without overlooking the others.
Woe to you Pharisees!
You love the seat of honor in synagogues
and greetings in marketplaces.
Woe to you!
You are like unseen graves over which people unknowingly walk.”

Then one of the scholars of the law said to him in reply,
“Teacher, by saying this you are insulting us too.”
And he said, “Woe also to you scholars of the law!
You impose on people burdens hard to carry,
but you yourselves do not lift one finger to touch them.”

www.usccb.org

Meditation: "You load burdens hard to bear"

Why does Jesus single out the teachers and lawyers for some rather strong words of rebuke? The word woe can also be translated as alas. It is as much an expression of sorrowful pity as it is of anger. Why did Jesus lament and issue such a stern rebuke? Jesus was angry with the religious leaders because they failed to listen to God's word and they misled the people they were supposed to guide in the ways of God. The scribes devoted their lives to the study of the Law of Moses and regarded themselves as legal experts in it. They divided the ten commandments and precepts into thousands of tiny rules and regulations. They were so exacting in their interpretations and in trying to live them out, that they had little time for anything else. By the time they finished compiling their interpretations it took no less than fifty volumes to contain them! In their misguided zeal, they required unnecessary and burdensome rules which obscured the more important matters of religion, such as love of God and love of neighbor. They were leading people to Pharisaism rather than to God.

Jesus used the example of tithing to show how far they had missed the mark. God had commanded a tithe of the first fruits of one's labor as an expression of thanksgiving and honor for his providential care for his people (Deuteronomy 14:22; Leviticus 27:30). The scribes, however, went to extreme lengths to tithe on insignificant things (such as tiny plants) with great mathematical accuracy. They were very attentive to minute matters of little importance, but they neglected to care for the needy and the weak. Jesus admonished them because their hearts were not right. They were filled with pride and contempt for others. They put unnecessary burdens on others while neglecting to show charity, especially to the weak and the poor. They meticulously went through the correct motions of conventional religion while forgetting the realities.

Why does Jesus also compare them with "unmarked graves"? According to Numbers 19:16 contact with a grave made a person ritually unclean for seven days.  Jesus turns the table on the Pharisees by declaring that those who come into contact with them and listen to their self-made instruction are likewise defiled by their false doctrine. They infect others with wrong ideas of God and of his intentions. Since the Pharisees are "unmarked", other people do not recognize the decay within and do not realize the danger of spiritual contamination. The Pharisees must have taken Jesus' accusation as a double insult: They are not only spiritually unclean themselves because they reject the word of God, but they also contaminate others with their dangerous "leaven" as well (see Luke 12:1).

What was the point of Jesus' lesson? The essence of God's commandments is love – love of the supreme good – God himself and love of our neighbor who is made in the image and likeness of God. God is love (1 John 4:8) and everything he does flows from his love for us. God's love is unconditional and is wholly directed towards the good of others. True love both embraces and lifts the burdens of others. Paul the Apostle reminds us that "God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given us" (Romans 5:5). Do you help your neighbors carry their burdens? God gives each of us sufficient grace for each day to love as he loves and to lift the burdens of others that they, too, may experience the grace and love of Jesus Christ.

"Lord Jesus, inflame my heart with your love that I may always pursue what matters most – love of you, my God, and love of my fellow neighbor whom you have made in your own image and likeness. Free my heart from selfish evil desires that I may only have room for kindness, mercy, and goodness toward every person I know and meet."

www.dailyscripture.net

The Grumpy Catholics Guild

Wednesday of the Twenty-Eighth Week in Ordinary Time

Father Daniel Ray, LC Luke 11: 42-46 "But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and herbs of all kinds, and neglect justice and the love of God; it is these you ought to have practiced, without neglecting the others. Woe to you Pharisees! For you love to have the seat of honor in the synagogues and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces. Woe to you! For you are like unmarked graves, and people walk over them without realizing it." One of the lawyers answered him, "Teacher, when you say these things, you insult us too." And he said, "Woe also to you lawyers! For you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not lift a finger to ease them.” Introductory Prayer: Lord, I believe that you are present here as I turn to you in prayer. I trust and have confidence in your desire to give me every grace I need to receive today. Thank you for your love, thank you for your immense generosity toward me. I give you my life and my love in return. Petition: Lord, make my heart more like yours. 1. Falling into the Same Trap: Do we ever find ourselves rooting for Jesus in this Gospel passage? “Give it to ‘em hard, Lord! They deserve it!” We imagine ourselves there in the scene—our arms sternly crossed, our heads shaking in disapproval of those oh-so hypocritical Pharisees. Soon our thoughts turn to someone we know who “should also receive a good verbal lashing!” Even a priest or a bishop might be the subject of our mental reprimand. Yet we now find ourselves right in the shoes of the very Pharisees we so deplore: Our hearts are embittered and dry. Although we are able to condemn with the Lord, we do not love with the Lord. We forget that Christ would lay down his life for these Pharisees he is calling to conversion—even if they were the only ones who needed to be saved. Pointing the finger is easy, but a call to conversion can come only from a heart that loves. 2. The Grumpy Catholics Guild: Is there anyone who can’t find at least one thing wrong in their parish or diocese? One thing is to see, pray for, and help resolve these difficulties. Another matter is to dwell on them. That is what the members of the “Grumpy Catholics Guild” (GCG) do. This Gospel passage is the one exclusive lens through which they view everything. For the Rosary, members of the GCG pray the “Vengeful Mysteries”: Jesus curses the fig tree, Jesus clears the temple, Jesus condemns the scribes and Pharisees. Might I be an anonymous member—or at least a supporter—of the GCG? Christ used hard words, but they were only fruit of an intense love and longing for the scribes’ and Pharisees’ salvation, not an intense bitterness toward them. If I have any bitterness in my heart, I need to ask Christ for the grace to forgive and to forgive as Christ forgives. 3. Helping Hand: Our Lord was the greatest teacher, the great pedagogue of the fullness of life: the love of the Father. He knew how to bring souls along little by little, at their pace and to the extent they were capable. The opposite is true of the lawyers at the end of this Gospel passage. They would load restrictions, unwieldy responsibilities and weighty sacrifices upon the people, but would not reach out a helping hand to assist the people in carrying the weight. As Christians we are called to help illuminate the consciences of those around us so that they might have a closer relationship with God. However if illuminating their consciences is merely our euphemism for “throwing the book at them”, we need to stop and see if Christ’s words don’t apply to us as well: “For you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not lift a finger to ease them.” Conversation with Christ: Lord Jesus, at times I look at my heart and see that it is hard and bitter. It is ready to jump self-righteously at the first opportunity to condemn someone else, but only so as to assure myself of my own moral superiority. Grant me a heart, meek and humble like yours. Resolution: If I find myself thinking critically about someone today, I will pray for them and look for two good qualities in them.

www.regnumchristi.org

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, LUKE 11:42-46
(Romans 2:1-11; Psalm 62)

Key Verse: "You impose on people burdens hard to carry, but you yourselves do not lift one finger to touch them" (v 46). 
READING: With every clash with the religious leaders, moved Jesus a step closer to Calvary. He spoke stern words to the Pharisees and the scholars of the law (scribes) for oppressing the people with their impossible legal requirements, and doing nothing to lighten their burden. While the law required people to pay a 10% tax on produce, the Pharisees taxed even the tiniest garden herbs while ignoring the greater demands of the law, which was justice and charity. The Pharisees loved to be respected by the people in the synagogue and marketplace. Although they gave the appearance of being holy men, they were spiritually as dead as the "unclean" bones in the graveyard. Jesus accused the scribes of using the law as a rod to punish the people instead of interpreting it for them as a gift from God. They had taken away the means for true understanding of God and salvation, and by misusing the law were themselves misled.
REFLECTING: In what areas of my life am I hypocritical in observing God's law?
PRAYING: Lord Jesus, help me to obey your laws of justice and love.

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Optional Memorial of St. Hedwig

Hedwig was the daughter of the Duke of Croatia, and the aunt of St. Elizabeth of Hungary. She was married to Prince Henry I of Silesia and Poland in 1186 at age 12. The mother of seven, she cared for the sick both personally and by founding hospitals. Upon her husband's death, she gave away her fortune and entered the monastery at Trebnitz. She gave aid to colleges and to religious persons dwelling within or outside monasteries, to widows and orphans, to the sick, to lepers, to the imprisoned, to travelers and needy women with infants. No one who came to her for help went away empty. God also conferred on her such grace that when she lacked human means to do good, she had the power of Christ to relieve the bodily and spiritual troubles of all who sought her help. 

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Optional Memorial of Margaret Mary Alacoque, virgin

Healed from a crippling disorder by a vision of the Blessed Virgin, Margaret Mary was prompted to give her life to God and joined the Order of the Visitation in 1671. Margaret Mary received a revelation from our Lord in 1675, which included Twelve promises to her and to those who practiced a true to devotion to His Sacred Heart, whose crown of thorns represent his sacrifices. 
1. I will give them all the graces necessary for their state of life.
2. I will establish peace in their families.
3. I will console them in all their troubles.
4. They shall find in My Heart an assured refuge during life and especially at the hour of their death.
5. I will pour abundant blessings on all their undertakings.
6. Sinners shall find in My Heart the source of an infinite ocean of mercy.
7. Tepid souls shall become fervent.
8. Fervent souls shall speedily rise to great perfection.
9. I will bless the homes where an image of My Heart shall be exposed and honored.
10. I will give to priests the power of touching the most hardened hearts.
11. Those who propagate this devotion shall have their names written in My Heart, never to be effaced.
12. The all-powerful love of My Heart will grant to all those who shall receive Communion on the First Friday of nine consecutive months the grace of final repentance; they shall not die under my displeasure, nor without receiving their Sacraments; My heart shall be their assured refuge at that last hour. 

www.togetherwithgodsword.com

Lord, you give back to all according to their works.

If you pass judgement you have no excuse.
Dear Lord, some of us may not feel too pleased with ourselves when we read your words today. How easy it is to say, I am not like those people lording it over everyone else. But it is also easy to miss the point. The point is, as Paul tells us, that if we judge others, we condemn ourselves. It seems, Lord, that it is what is in our hearts that concerns you. Apart from the main reason for seeing the best in people which is pleasing you, life is much more pleasant if we see the good in other people and do not judge them. Help us to love everyone as you do, even if we find it hard to like them.

www.churchresources.info

October 16
St. Hedwig
(1174?-1243)

Rarely do humans realize the possibilities of the wise use of earthly power and worldly wealth. Hedwig was one of the few. Born to nobility toward the close of the 12th century, she was married at an early age to Henry, duke of Silesia (now Poland). Through her persuation and personal efforts, several monastic institutions of both men and women were established in Silesia. Several hospitals, one for lepers, were likewise founded. She was personally a great force in establishing peace in the surrounding areas during power struggles. To her great sorrow, she was unable to prevent a pitched battle between the forces of two of her sons, one of whom was dissatisfied over the partition of estates that Henry had made between them.

After she and her husband had made mutual vows of celibacy, she lived mostly at the monastery at Trebnitz where, although not a formal member of the religious institute, she nevertheless participated in the religious exercises of the community. She died in1243 and was buried at Trebnitz.

Stories:

Hedwig sacrificed her wish to become a religious in later life in order to use her earthly goods to help the poor. She chose poverty, distrusting the comforts her means might have afforded her and denying herself even such basic necessities as shoes in winter. She wore the religious habit, lived the life of a religious, but would not give up the administration of her possessions because she used these goods to help the poor. She lived her life and used her possessions so that she and those she was able to help might better appreciate the supernatural life of God’s grace.

Comment:

Whatever possessions we4 may be blessed with are not for our own needs or personal comfort alone; they are also to be used in assisting others. Use of these goods should always promote, never impede, progress in God's love. It is true that earthly things of themselves in no way contradict God love but rather are evident of it. Even so, we can become so interested in and entriced by what we sense that we become forget of the God from whom these blessings come.

Quote:

Hedwig sacrificed her wish to become a religious in later life in order to use her earthly goods to help the poor. She chose poverty, distrusting the comforts her means might have afforded her and denying herself even such basic necessities as shoes in winter. She wore the religious habit, lived the life of a religious but would not give up the administration of her possessions so that she and those she was able to help might better appreciated the supernatural life of God's grace.

October 16
St. Margaret Mary Alacoque
(1647-1690)

Margaret Mary was chosen by Christ to arouse the Church to a realization of the love of God symbolized by the heart of Jesus.

Her early years were marked by sickness and a painful home situation. "The heaviest of my crosses was that I could do nothing to lighten the cross my mother was suffering." After considering marriage for some time, Margaret entered the Order of Visitation nuns at the age of 24.

A Visitation nun was "not to be extraordinary except by being ordinary," but the young nun was not to enjoy this anonymity. A fellow novice (shrewdest of critics) termed Margaret humble, simple and frank, but above all kind and patient under sharp criticism and correction. She could not meditate in the formal way expected, though she tried her best to give up her "prayer of simplicity." Slow, quiet and clumsy, she was assigned to help an infirmarian who was a bundle of energy.

On December 21, 1674, three years a nun, she received the first of her revelations. She felt "invested" with the presence of God, though always afraid of deceiving herself in such matters. The request of Christ was that his love for humankind be made evident through her. During the next 13 months he appeared to her at intervals. His human heart was to be the symbol of his divine-human love. By her own love she was to make up for the coldness and ingratitude of the world—by frequent and loving Holy Communion, especially on the first Friday of each month, and by an hour's vigil of prayer every Thursday night in memory of his agony and isolation in Gethsemane. He also asked that a feast of reparation be instituted.

Like all saints, Margaret had to pay for her gift of holiness. Some of her own sisters were hostile. Theologians who were called in declared her visions delusions and suggested that she eat more heartily. Later, parents of children she taught called her an impostor, an unorthodox innovator. A new confessor, St. Claude de la Colombiere, a Jesuit, recognized her genuineness and supported her. Against her great resistance, Christ called her to be a sacrificial victim for the shortcomings of her own sisters, and to make this known.

After serving as novice mistress and assistant superior, she died at the age of 43 while being anointed. "I need nothing but God, and to lose myself in the heart of Jesus."

Comment:

Our scientific-materialistic age cannot "prove" private revelations. Theologians, if pressed, admit that we do not have to believe in them. But it is impossible to deny the message Margaret Mary heralded: that God loves us with a passionate love. Her insistence on reparation and prayer and the reminder of final judgment should be sufficient to ward off superstition and superficiality in devotion to the Sacred Heart while preserving its deep Christian meaning.

Quote:

Christ speaks to St. Margaret Mary: "Behold this Heart which has so loved men that it has spared nothing, even to exhausting and consuming itself, in order to testify its love. In return, I receive from the greater part only ingratitude, by their irreverence and sacrileges, and by the coldness and contempt they have for me in this sacrament of love.... I come into the heart I have given you in order that through your fervor you may atone for the offenses which I have received from lukewarm and slothful hearts that dishonor me in the Blessed Sacrament" (Third apparition).

www.americancatholic.org

LECTIO: LUKE 11,42-46

Lectio: 

 Wednesday, October 16, 2013  

Ordinary Time

1) Opening prayer

Lord,

our help and guide,

make your love the foundation of our lives.

May our love for you express itself

in our eagerness to do good for others.

You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit,

one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

2) Gospel Reading - Luke 11,42-46

Jesus said: But alas for you Pharisees, because you pay your tithe of mint and rue and all sorts of garden herbs and neglect justice and the love of God! These you should have practised, without neglecting the others.

Alas for you Pharisees, because you like to take the seats of honour in the synagogues and to be greeted respectfully in the market squares!

Alas for you, because you are like the unmarked tombs that people walk on without knowing it!'

A lawyer then spoke up. 'Master,' he said, 'when you speak like this you insult us too.'

But he said, 'Alas for you lawyers as well, because you load on people burdens that are unendurable, burdens that you yourselves do not touch with your fingertips.

3) Reflection

• In today’s Gospel the conflictive relation between Jesus and the religious authority of the time continues. Today in the church we have the same conflict. In a determinate diocese the Bishop convoked the poor to participate actively. They accepted the request and numerous began to participate. A great conflict arose. The rich said that they had been excluded and some priests began to say: “the Bishop is doing politics and forgets the Gospel”.

• Luke 11, 42: Alas for you who do not think of justice and love. “Alas for you, Pharisees, because your pay your tithe of mint and rue and all sorts of garden herbs and neglect justice and the love of God. These you should have practiced without neglecting the others”. This criticism of Jesus against the religious heads of the time can be repeated against many religious heads of the following centuries, even up until now. Many times, in the name of God, we insist on details and we forget justice and love. For example, Jansenism rendered arid the living out of faith, insisting on observance and penance and leading people away from the path of love. Saint Theresa of Lisieux, the Carmelite Sister grew in a Jansenistic environment which marked France at the end of the XIX century. After a painful personal experience, she knew how to recover the gratuity of the Love of God with the force which has to animate the observance of the norms from within; because, without the experience of love, observance makes an idol of God.

The final observation of Jesus said: “You should practice this, without neglecting the others”. This observation recalls another observation of Jesus which serves as a comment: “Do not imagine that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I have come not to abolish but to complete them. In truth I tell you, till heaven and earth disappear, not one dot, not one little stroke, is to disappear from the Law until all its purpose is achieved. Therefore, anyone who infringes even one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be considered the least in the Kingdom of Heaven; but the person who keeps them and teaches them will be considered great in the Kingdom of Heaven. For I tell you, if your uprightness does not surpass that of the Scribes and Pharisees you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven” (Mt 5,17-20).

• Luke 11, 43: Alas for you, because you like to take the seats of honour. “Alas for you, Pharisees, because you like to take the seats of honour in the Synagogues and to be greeted respectfully in the market squares”. Jesus calls the attention of the disciples on the hypocritical behaviour of some Pharisees. They like to go around the squares with long tunics, and receive the greetings of the people, to occupy the first seats in the synagogues and the seats of honour in the banquets (cf. Mt 6, 5; 23, 5-7). Mark says that they lied to enter into the houses of the widows to recite long prayers in exchange for some money. Such persons will be judged very severely (Mk 12, 38-40). This also happens today in the Church.

• Luke 11, 44: Alas for you, unmarked tombs. “Alas for you, Scribes and Pharisees, because you are like whitewashed tombs that look handsome on the outside, but inside are full of the bones of the dead and every kind of corruption” (Mt 23,27-28). The image of “whitewashed tombs” speaks of itself and does not need any comments. Through this image, Jesus condemns a fictitious appearance of persons who are correct, but interiorly there is the complete negation of what they ant to appear to be on the outside. Luke speaks about unmarked tombs: Alas for you, because you are like those unmarked tombs that people walked on without knowing it. “. Anyone who walks on or touches a tomb becomes impure, even if the tomb is hidden under the ground. This image is very strong: on the outside the Pharisee seems to be just and good, but this aspect is deceitful because inside there is a hidden tomb, that without people being aware spreads a poison that kills, communicates a mentality that leads people away from God , suggests an erroneous understanding of the Good News of the Kingdom. It is an ideology which makes of God a dead idol.

• Luke 11, 45-46: Criticism of the Doctors of the Law and response of Jesus: A lawyer then spoke up and said: “Master, when you speak like this you insult us too!" In his response Jesus does not turn back, rather he shows clearly that the same criticism is also for the Scribes: “Alas for you lawyers as well , because you load on people burdens that are unbearable, burdens that you yourselves do not touch with your fingertips!” In the Sermon on the Mountain, Jesus expresses the same criticism which serves as a comment: “The Scribes and the Pharisees occupy the chair of Moses. You must therefore, do and observe what they tell you, but do not be guided by what they do , since they do not practice what they preach. They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on people’s shoulders, but will they lift a finger to move them?” (Mt 23, 2-4).

4) Personal questions

• Hypocrisy maintains an appearance which deceives. Up to what point does my hypocrisy reach? How far does the hypocrisy of our Church go?

• Jesus criticized the Scribes who insisted in the disciplinary observance of the minute points of the law, as for example the to pay the tithe of mint and rue and all forts of garden herbs and forget the objective of the Law which is the practice of justice and the love. Can this criticism also apply to me?

5) Concluding prayer

How blessed is anyone who rejects the advice of the wicked

and does not take a stand in the path that sinners tread,

nor a seat in company with cynics,

but who delights in the law of Yahweh

and murmurs his law day and night. (Ps 1,1-2)

www.ocarm.org