Wednesday of the Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 427
Lectionary: 427
You recall,
brothers and sisters, our toil and drudgery.
Working night and day in order not to burden any of you,
we proclaimed to you the Gospel of God.
You are witnesses, and so is God,
how devoutly and justly and blamelessly
we behaved toward you believers.
As you know, we treated each one of you as a father treats his children,
exhorting and encouraging you and insisting
that you walk in a manner worthy of the God
who calls you into his Kingdom and glory.
And for this reason we too give thanks to God unceasingly,
that, in receiving the word of God from hearing us,
you received it not as the word of men, but as it truly is, the word of God,
which is now at work in you who believe.
Working night and day in order not to burden any of you,
we proclaimed to you the Gospel of God.
You are witnesses, and so is God,
how devoutly and justly and blamelessly
we behaved toward you believers.
As you know, we treated each one of you as a father treats his children,
exhorting and encouraging you and insisting
that you walk in a manner worthy of the God
who calls you into his Kingdom and glory.
And for this reason we too give thanks to God unceasingly,
that, in receiving the word of God from hearing us,
you received it not as the word of men, but as it truly is, the word of God,
which is now at work in you who believe.
Responsorial PsalmPS 139:7-8, 9-10, 11-12AB
R. (1) You have searched me and you know me, Lord.
Where can I go from your spirit?
From your presence where can I flee?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I sink to the nether world, you are present there.
R. You have searched me and you know me, Lord.
If I take the wings of the dawn,
if I settle at the farthest limits of the sea,
Even there your hand shall guide me,
and your right hand hold me fast.
R. You have searched me and you know me, Lord.
If I say, “Surely the darkness shall hide me,
and night shall be my light”–
For you darkness itself is not dark,
and night shines as the day.
R. You have searched me and you know me, Lord.
Where can I go from your spirit?
From your presence where can I flee?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I sink to the nether world, you are present there.
R. You have searched me and you know me, Lord.
If I take the wings of the dawn,
if I settle at the farthest limits of the sea,
Even there your hand shall guide me,
and your right hand hold me fast.
R. You have searched me and you know me, Lord.
If I say, “Surely the darkness shall hide me,
and night shall be my light”–
For you darkness itself is not dark,
and night shines as the day.
R. You have searched me and you know me, Lord.
Alleluia1 JN 2:5
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Whoever keeps the word of Christ,
the love of God is truly perfected in him.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Whoever keeps the word of Christ,
the love of God is truly perfected in him.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GospelMT 23:27-32
Jesus said,
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites.
You are like whitewashed tombs, which appear beautiful on the outside,
but inside are full of dead men’s bones and every kind of filth.
Even so, on the outside you appear righteous,
but inside you are filled with hypocrisy and evildoing.
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites.
You build the tombs of the prophets
and adorn the memorials of the righteous,
and you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors,
we would not have joined them in shedding the prophets’ blood.’
Thus you bear witness against yourselves
that you are the children of those who murdered the prophets;
now fill up what your ancestors measured out!”
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites.
You are like whitewashed tombs, which appear beautiful on the outside,
but inside are full of dead men’s bones and every kind of filth.
Even so, on the outside you appear righteous,
but inside you are filled with hypocrisy and evildoing.
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites.
You build the tombs of the prophets
and adorn the memorials of the righteous,
and you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors,
we would not have joined them in shedding the prophets’ blood.’
Thus you bear witness against yourselves
that you are the children of those who murdered the prophets;
now fill up what your ancestors measured out!”
Meditation: True beauty and goodness come from within
How can you tell if someone is real or fake, genuine or counterfeit?
Outward appearances can be deceptive. Isaiah prophesied that the Messiah would not
judge by what his eyes see, or decide by what his ears hear; but with
righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of
the earth (Isaiah 11:3-4). The heart reveals the true intentions and
attitudes that form the way we think of others and treat them. Jesus used
strong language to warn the religious leaders and teachers about the vanity of
outward appearance and pretense - wearing a mask that hides the true intentions
and thoughts of the heart. In Palestine tombs were often placed by the sides of
roads. They were painted white which made them glisten in the midday sun,
especially around the time of the great feasts, so that people would not
accidentally touch them and incur ritual impurity.
True beauty and goodness come from within
Jesus equates true beauty and goodness with a clean heart and mind that is set on God and his way of love and goodness and sin with a corrupt mind and heart that is set on doing what is wrong and evil. Jesus issued a stern warning to the scribes and Pharisees not to condemn them but to call them to examine their hearts in the light of God's truth and holiness. Jesus called them hypocrites because their hearts were set on pleasing themselves rather than God. A hypocrite is an actor or imposter who says one thing but does the opposite or who puts on an outward appearance of doing good while inwardly clinging to wrong attitudes, selfish desires and ambitions, or bad intentions. Many scribes and Pharisees had made it a regular practice to publicly put on a good show of outward zeal and piety with the intention of winning greater honors, privileges, and favors among the people.
Jesus equates true beauty and goodness with a clean heart and mind that is set on God and his way of love and goodness and sin with a corrupt mind and heart that is set on doing what is wrong and evil. Jesus issued a stern warning to the scribes and Pharisees not to condemn them but to call them to examine their hearts in the light of God's truth and holiness. Jesus called them hypocrites because their hearts were set on pleasing themselves rather than God. A hypocrite is an actor or imposter who says one thing but does the opposite or who puts on an outward appearance of doing good while inwardly clinging to wrong attitudes, selfish desires and ambitions, or bad intentions. Many scribes and Pharisees had made it a regular practice to publicly put on a good show of outward zeal and piety with the intention of winning greater honors, privileges, and favors among the people.
Sin is ugly because it corrupts heart and mind
Jesus warns that what truly corrupts a person is not external ritual impurity but the impurity of wrong and sinful attitudes that come from within a person's mind and heart - such as pride, greed, sloth, envy, hatred, gluttony, and lust - these are what produce sinful habits (vices) and ways of speaking, acting, judging, and treating others. That is why every good deed is beautiful in God's sight and every wrong or sinful deed is ugly in his sight. The scribes and Pharisees were intensely religious in their outward observances, but their outward show didn't match the inner reality of the state of their minds and hearts. They not only neglected the poor and the weak, but they were intolerant towards anyone who challenged their idea of religion. That is why so many of the prophets in past ages - who warned about tolerating evil desires and unjust behavior towards one's neighbor - were persecuted and even killed by their own rulers and people.
Jesus warns that what truly corrupts a person is not external ritual impurity but the impurity of wrong and sinful attitudes that come from within a person's mind and heart - such as pride, greed, sloth, envy, hatred, gluttony, and lust - these are what produce sinful habits (vices) and ways of speaking, acting, judging, and treating others. That is why every good deed is beautiful in God's sight and every wrong or sinful deed is ugly in his sight. The scribes and Pharisees were intensely religious in their outward observances, but their outward show didn't match the inner reality of the state of their minds and hearts. They not only neglected the poor and the weak, but they were intolerant towards anyone who challenged their idea of religion. That is why so many of the prophets in past ages - who warned about tolerating evil desires and unjust behavior towards one's neighbor - were persecuted and even killed by their own rulers and people.
Jesus chastised the religious leaders for being double-minded
and for demanding from others standards which they refused to satisfy. They
professed admiration for the prophets who spoke God's word by building tombs in
their honor. But their outward show of respect did not match their inward
refusal to heed the prophets' warning to turn away from sinful attitudes and
from neglecting to lead their people - through teaching and their own example -
in God's way of love and holiness of life. They shut themselves to heaven and
they hindered others from growing in the knowledge of God's truth and goodness.
They rejected Jesus as their Messiah because their hearts were blinded and
hardened to the voice of God.
The Holy Spirit renews the heart and mind
True beauty, goodness, and piety come from within - from a heart that is set on pleasing God and a mind that is set on hearing and obeying God's word. Jesus came to set us free from slavery to sin and harmful habits and addictions that lead us into wrong and sinful ways of thinking, acting, and relating to others. Only the humble of heart can receive from God true wisdom and understanding, pardon and healing. The Holy Spirit is ever ready to renew our minds and hearts and to lead us in God's way of love and holiness. Ask the Holy Spirit to purify your heart and mind and to fill you with the power of God's love and goodness.
True beauty, goodness, and piety come from within - from a heart that is set on pleasing God and a mind that is set on hearing and obeying God's word. Jesus came to set us free from slavery to sin and harmful habits and addictions that lead us into wrong and sinful ways of thinking, acting, and relating to others. Only the humble of heart can receive from God true wisdom and understanding, pardon and healing. The Holy Spirit is ever ready to renew our minds and hearts and to lead us in God's way of love and holiness. Ask the Holy Spirit to purify your heart and mind and to fill you with the power of God's love and goodness.
"Lord Jesus, incline my heart to your wisdom and teach me
your ways. Fill me with your Holy Spirit that I may love your ways and obey
your word."
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 26,
MATTHEW 23:27-32
Weekday
(1 Thessalonians 2:9-13; Psalm 139)
Weekday
(1 Thessalonians 2:9-13; Psalm 139)
KEY VERSE: "On the outside you appear righteous, but inside you are filled with hypocrisy and evildoing" (v 28).
TO KNOW: Jesus reproached the religious leaders for their excessive concern for externals while neglecting inner righteousness. He compared them to whitewashed tombs, beautiful on the outside, but filled with corruption. Jesus made his most serious indictment of these hypocritical religious leaders when he accused them of being as guilty as those who murdered the prophets. He charged them with making a pretense of honoring God's messengers, boasting that if they had lived in the days of the prophets they would not have participated in their deaths. But these hypocritical religious leaders were no different than their ancestors. By their actions they filled the crucible with the blood of Christ.
TO LOVE: Do I make a pretense at being holy while my thoughts, words and deeds are impure?
TO SERVE: Lord Jesus, make my inmost being truly holy in your sight.
Wednesday 26 August 2015
WED 26TH.
1 Thessalonians 2:9-13. You have searched me and you know me, Lord—Ps
138(139)7-12. Matthew 23:27-32.
Today’s
readings offer two conflicting images of parenthood.
The
gospel reminds us that misunderstanding can be passed from generation to
generation. There is a type of parent who, perhaps inadvertently, limits and
prejudices the growth of the child. The first reading presents an alternative:
parenthood is not only teaching but also calling. There is a gulf between
calling and demanding. Demands are often insensitive to the point of stifling
one partner in a relationship. Calling always implies freedom and offers
support.
God
parents each one of us by calling us to a fuller, freer life. Christian
vocation is never a matter of being cornered without choice. It is the
challenge to seek God’s gentle guidance between thousands of possibilities and
to be invited perhaps where we would rather not go.
MINUTE MEDITATIONS
|
Meek and Humble
|
It’s human to feel challenged by the sort of meekness God desires,
but with his help, we can be courageous enough to be obedient and faithful
enough to believe in our inheritance to come in the next world.
August
26
St. Joseph Calasanz
(1556-1648)
St. Joseph Calasanz
(1556-1648)
From
Aragon, where he was born in 1556, to Rome, where he died 92 years later,
fortune alternately smiled and frowned on the work of Joseph Calasanz. A priest
with university training in canon law and theology, respected for his wisdom
and administrative expertise, he put aside his career because he was deeply
concerned with the need for education of poor children.
When he
was unable to get other institutes to undertake this apostolate at Rome, he and
several companions personally provided a free school for deprived children. So
overwhelming was the response that there was a constant need for larger
facilities to house their effort. Soon Pope Clement VIII gave support to the
school, and this aid continued under Pope Paul V. Other schools were opened;
other men were attracted to the work and in 1621 the community (for so the
teachers lived) was recognized as a religious community, the Clerks Regular of
Religious Schools (Piarists or Scolopi). Not long after, Joseph was appointed
superior for life.
A
combination of various prejudices and political ambition and maneuvering caused
the institute much turmoil. Some did not favor educating the poor, for
education would leave the poor dissatisfied with their lowly tasks for society!
Others were shocked that some of the Piarists were sent for instruction to
Galileo (a friend of Joseph) as superior, thus dividing the members into
opposite camps. Repeatedly investigated by papal commissions, Joseph was
demoted; when the struggle within the institute persisted, the Piarists were
suppressed. Only after Joseph’s death were they formally recognized as a
religious community.
Comment:
No one knew better than Joseph the need for the work he was doing; no one knew better than he how baseless were the charges brought against him. Yet if he were to work within the Church, he realized that he must submit to its authority, that he must accept a setback if he was unable to convince authorized investigators. While the prejudice, the scheming, and the ignorance of men often keep the truth from emerging for a long period of time, Joseph was convinced, even under suppression, that his institute would again be recognized and authorized. With this trust he joined exceptional patience and a genuine spirit of forgiveness.
No one knew better than Joseph the need for the work he was doing; no one knew better than he how baseless were the charges brought against him. Yet if he were to work within the Church, he realized that he must submit to its authority, that he must accept a setback if he was unable to convince authorized investigators. While the prejudice, the scheming, and the ignorance of men often keep the truth from emerging for a long period of time, Joseph was convinced, even under suppression, that his institute would again be recognized and authorized. With this trust he joined exceptional patience and a genuine spirit of forgiveness.
Quote:
Even in the days after his own demotion, Joseph protected his persecutors against his enraged partisans; and when the community was suppressed, he stated with Job, to whom he was often compared: “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; /blessed be the name of the Lord!” (Job 1:21b).
Even in the days after his own demotion, Joseph protected his persecutors against his enraged partisans; and when the community was suppressed, he stated with Job, to whom he was often compared: “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; /blessed be the name of the Lord!” (Job 1:21b).
LECTIO DIVINA:
MATTHEW 23,27-32
Lectio:
Wednesday, August 26, 2015
Ordinary Time
1) Opening prayer
Father,
help us to seek the values
that will bring us enduring joy in this changing world.
In our desire for what you promise
make us one in mind and heart.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
help us to seek the values
that will bring us enduring joy in this changing world.
In our desire for what you promise
make us one in mind and heart.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
2) Gospel Reading - Matthew 23,27-32
Jesus said: 'Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, you
hypocrites! 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. In
just the same way, from the outside you look upright, but inside you are full
of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
'Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build the sepulchres of the prophets and decorate the tombs of the upright, saying, "We would never have joined in shedding the blood of the prophets, had we lived in our ancestors' day." So! Your own evidence tells against you! You are the children of those who murdered the prophets! Very well then, finish off the work that your ancestors began.
'Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build the sepulchres of the prophets and decorate the tombs of the upright, saying, "We would never have joined in shedding the blood of the prophets, had we lived in our ancestors' day." So! Your own evidence tells against you! You are the children of those who murdered the prophets! Very well then, finish off the work that your ancestors began.
3) Reflection
• These two last ‘Alas for you...’ which Jesus pronounced
against the doctors of the law and the Pharisees of his time, take again and
strengthen, the same theme of the two ‘Alas for you...’ of the Gospel of
yesterday. Jesus criticizes the lack of coherence between the word and the
practice, between what is interior and what is exterior.
• Matthew 23, 27-28: The seventh, ‘Alas for you...¡ against those who are like whitewashed tombs. You appear upright on the outside, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness”. The image of “whitewashed sepulchres” speaks for itself and needs no commentaries. Jesus condemns those who have the fictitious appearance of upright persons, but who interiorly are the total negation of what they want to appear outside.
• Matthew 23, 29-32: The eighth ‘Alas for you...’ against those who build the sepulchres of the prophets and decorate the tombs of the upright, but do not imitate them. The doctors and the Pharisees said: “We would never have joined in shedding the blood of the prophets, had we lived in our ancestors’ day”. And Jesus concludes saying: The persons who speak like this “confess that they are children of those who killed the prophets”, then they say “Our fathers”. And Jesus ends saying:” Very well then, finish off the work that your ancestors began!” In fact, at that moment they had already decided to kill Jesus. In this way they were finishing off the work of their ancestors.
• Matthew 23, 27-28: The seventh, ‘Alas for you...¡ against those who are like whitewashed tombs. You appear upright on the outside, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness”. The image of “whitewashed sepulchres” speaks for itself and needs no commentaries. Jesus condemns those who have the fictitious appearance of upright persons, but who interiorly are the total negation of what they want to appear outside.
• Matthew 23, 29-32: The eighth ‘Alas for you...’ against those who build the sepulchres of the prophets and decorate the tombs of the upright, but do not imitate them. The doctors and the Pharisees said: “We would never have joined in shedding the blood of the prophets, had we lived in our ancestors’ day”. And Jesus concludes saying: The persons who speak like this “confess that they are children of those who killed the prophets”, then they say “Our fathers”. And Jesus ends saying:” Very well then, finish off the work that your ancestors began!” In fact, at that moment they had already decided to kill Jesus. In this way they were finishing off the work of their ancestors.
4) Personal questions
• Still two other expressions, ‘Alas for you...’ but two reasons
for being criticized severely by Jesus. Which of these is in me?
• Which image of myself do I try to present to others? Does it correspond, in fact, to what I am before God?
• Which image of myself do I try to present to others? Does it correspond, in fact, to what I am before God?
5) Concluding Prayer
How blessed are all who fear Yahweh,
who walk in his ways!
Your own labours will yield you a living,
happy and prosperous will you be. (Ps 128,1-2)
who walk in his ways!
Your own labours will yield you a living,
happy and prosperous will you be. (Ps 128,1-2)
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét