Wednesday of the Twenty-eighth Week in
Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 469
Lectionary: 469
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.
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.
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.
AlleluiaJN 10:27
R. Alleluia,
alleluia.
My sheep hear my voice, says the Lord;
I know them, and they follow me.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
My sheep hear my voice, says the Lord;
I know them, and they follow me.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
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."
"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."
For the readings of the Optional Memorial of Saint Hedwig, please go here.
For the readings of the Optional Memorial of Saint Margaret Mary Alocoque,
please go here.
Meditation: "You load
burdens hard to bear"
Why
does Jesus single out the religious 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.
God's
commandments are rooted in his love and care for us
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.
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.
Do
not lay heavy burdens on others
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.
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).
Love
lifts the burdens of others
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.
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 Lord and my God, and love of my fellow neighbor whom you
have made in your own image and likeness. Free my heart from selfish desires
that I may only have room for kindness, mercy, and goodness toward every person
I know and meet."
Daily
Quote from the early church fathers: Binding heavy burdens on others,
by Origen of Alexandria (185-254 AD)
"Just
as the scribes and Pharisees wickedly sat upon the throne of Moses, so do some
in the church who sit upon the ecclesiastical throne. There are some in the
church who have the right understanding of the law and pass it on correctly.
They say what each person needs to do, but they themselves do not do it. Some
of them lay heavy burdens upon the shoulders of men, but they won’t even lift a
finger to help. These are the ones the Savior is talking about when he says,
'Whoever then relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches men
so, shall be called least in the kingdom of God' (Matthew 5:19). There are
others, however, who sit on the throne, who act before they speak and speak
wisely, restraining those who are disordered. They place merciful burdens on
the shoulders of others. They themselves are the first to lift the heavy
burden, for the exhortation of other listeners. It is these of whom the Lord
speaks when he says, 'He who does so and teaches others to do so, this man will
be called great in the kingdom of heaven.'" (excerpt from COMMENTARY
ON MATTHEW 9)
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, LUKE 16, LUKE 11:42-46
Weekday
(Romans 2:1-11; Psalm 62)
Weekday
(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).
TO KNOW: 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. Whereas the law required people to pay a 10% tax on produce, the Pharisees taxed even the tiniest garden herbs and ignored 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, Jesus said that they were spiritually dead as the "unclean" bones in the graveyard. He 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.
TO LOVE: In what areas of my life am I hypocritical in observing God's law?
TO SERVE: Lord Jesus, help me to obey your laws of justice and love.
Optional Memorial of Saint Hedwig, religious
Hedwig was the daughter of the Duke of Croatia, and the aunt of Saint 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 personally and founded hospitals. Upon her husband's death, she gave away her fortune and entered the monastery at Trebnitz. She gave aid to the needy, to the weak, 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, and her own powers failed, she had the power of Christ to relieve the bodily and spiritual troubles of all who sought her help.
Optional
Memorial of Saint 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. After receiving a vision of the scourged Christ, she was moved to join the Order of the Visitation in 1671. Margaret Mary received a revelation from the Lord in 1675, which included Twelve Promises to her and to those who practiced true devotion to His Sacred Heart. The Twelve Promises of Jesus to Saint Margaret Mary for those devoted to His Sacred Heart has become widespread and popular.
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.
Wednesday 16 October 2019
Romans 2:1-11. Psalm 61(62):2-3, 6-7, 9. Luke 11:42-46.
Lord, you give back to all according to their works – Psalm
61(62):2-3, 6-7, 9
‘Only in God is my soul at rest’
Today’s psalm offers healing balm for our lives. Only the Lord
is the source of my salvation. He is my rock and stronghold, my source of
peace. He is the One who offers me rest.
Ultimately, as Pedro Arrupe SJ wrote, in him alone is our hope.
I will not be disturbed by the worries and anxieties of everyday life, because
ultimately I place my trust in the Lord. He is my joy and my invitation to
fullness of life. He is the One who gives me refuge and strength.
So today, as I hear a Gospel of challenge, I rest in the Lord’s
presence. I call upon his name. I work for the coming of his reign, together
with his people, the people of God. Lord Jesus, be my rock and my salvation this
day. Turn my heart over to your Spirit of peace.
Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque
Saint of the Day for October 16
(July 22, 1647 – October 17, 1690)
 |
| Stained glass, depiction Christ appearing to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque and showing her His Sacred Heart | St. Francis Xavier Basilica, Vincennes, IN |
Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque’s Story
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 Mary entered the Order of the 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
termed Margaret Mary 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, Christ appeared to her at intervals.
His human heart was to be the symbol of his divine-human love. By her own love
Margaret Mary 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 Mary 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, the Jesuit Claude de la Colombière, 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,
Margaret Mary died at the age of 43, while being anointed. She said: “I need
nothing but God, and to lose myself in the heart of Jesus.”
Reflection
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.
Lectio Divina: Luke 11:42-46
Lectio Divina
Wednesday, October 16, 2019
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.
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
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."
3) Reflection
• In today’s Gospel the conflicting relationship between Jesus
and the religious authority of the time continues. Today in the church we have
the same conflict. In a certain 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.” Jesus’ criticism of the
religious leaders of the time can be repeated against many religious leaders 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 Therese of Lisieux grew up 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: “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 honor. “Alas for you, Pharisees, because you like to take the seats of honor
in the synagogues and to be greeted respectfully in the market places.” Jesus
calls the attention of the disciples to the hypocritical behavior of some
Pharisees. They like to go around the streets with long tunics, and receive the
greetings of the people, to occupy the first seats in the synagogues and the
seats of honor at banquets (cf. Mt 6:5; 23:5-7). Mark says that they liked to
enter the houses of widows to recite long prayers in exchange for some money.
Such people 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 for
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 how they want 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 God a dead idol.
• Luke 11: 45-46: Criticism of the doctors of the Law and Jesus’
response. 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
Mount, 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. In what ways
am I hypocritical? How far does the hypocrisy of our Church go?
• How can I address this hypocrisy? How have others in history addressed it? Is there guidance in their example for me?
• Jesus criticized the scribes who insisted on the disciplinary observance of the minute points of the law, as, for example, paying the tithe of mint and rue and all sorts of garden herbs and forgetting the objective of the Law, which is the practice of justice and love. How does this criticism also apply to me?
• How can I address this hypocrisy? How have others in history addressed it? Is there guidance in their example for me?
• Jesus criticized the scribes who insisted on the disciplinary observance of the minute points of the law, as, for example, paying the tithe of mint and rue and all sorts of garden herbs and forgetting the objective of the Law, which is the practice of justice and love. How does 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)
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)
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