Friday of the Twenty-eighth Week in Ordinary Time

“There is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known. Therefore whatever you have said in the darkness will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered behind closed doors will be proclaimed on the housetops. . . . Are not five sparrows sold for two small coins? Yet not one of them has escaped the notice of God. Even the hairs of your head have all been counted. Do not be afraid. You are worth more than many sparrows.”

In today’s Gospel reading, the crowds press in on Jesus, and he warns the crowd and the disciples of the hypocrisy of the Pharisees. Whatever they do in darkness, Jesus says, will be revealed; whatever they say will be proclaimed from the housetops. Be afraid, Jesus says, of those who have power to kill not the body but the soul. And twice in the passage Jesus says, “Do not be afraid.” By comparing his disciples—and by extension all of humanity—to sparrows sold in a marketplace, Jesus would seem to be expressing the little worth of human lives and all of life’s torments. Instead, the comparison expresses God’s tender love for us in every single dimension of our lives. When sin disrupts that relationship, the Sacrament of Reconciliation restores us through grace to God’s constant presence.

God, help me understand the depth and breadth of your love. It is so great that I would venture to see it in only one aspect, in one splinter of my life as it is lived. How is it present in my relationship with my family? Where is that depth and breadth when others share their fears and concerns with me? “Do not be afraid," Jesus says. Let me be a living means of that message. Nothing escapes the notice of God.

Lord, let me be aware today that in your great love that you take notice of my coming and my going and my inmost thoughts. Let that awareness bring me joy that is visible to others for the sake of your glory.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Readings

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpuJ5WytCOA

Thursday of the Twenty-eighth Week in Ordinary Time

Therefore, the wisdom of God said, ‘I will send to them prophets and Apostles; some of them they will kill and persecute’ in order that this generation might be charged with the blood of all the prophets shed since the foundation of the world, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah who died between the altar and the temple building.

These words of Jesus from today’s Gospel reading are difficult to hear. Jesus tells the scribes, Pharisees, and scholars of the law that their ancestors are responsible for killing the prophets and that later generations built them memorials. The hypocrisy Jesus points to comes out of generations and generations of the Chosen People’s disobedience to God, whom God tested in various ways. Jesus directs the gaze of those who hear him to his Father in heaven. “Therefore, the wisdom of God said, ‘I will send to them prophets and Apostles; some of them they will kill and persecute.’ ” In the same way, Jesus charges the scribes, Pharisees, and scholars of the law with the shedding of blood since the foundation of the world. Why would Jesus go so far to condemn those who killed the prophets, the ones God called to speak his words to the Israelites? In the first reading, Saint Paul makes this clear, also referring to the “foundation of the world.” He says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ . . . as he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and without blemish before him.” Jesus condemns, but in that condemnation, he calls to adoption those who hear him to be without blemish, to be holy. Or as Paul says, “in love he destined us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ.”

God, help me make sense of this. There is a lot here to take in and make meaningful in my own life. I have to wonder about my own hypocrisy and actions from my past that you would condemn. You treat me not as I deserve to be treated but as a merciful, forgiving father through the redemption of your Son and the grace of the sacrament of Reconciliation.

Jesus, I know you are truly present in the Blessed Sacrament. Don’t let me fool myself into thinking today is about what I want out of it. Teach me to know and do your will. Help me see where I can let go of judgment and instead show mercy.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Readings

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Dd7YbWyPcQo

Tuesday of the Twenty-eighth Week in Ordinary Time

The Lord said to him, “Oh you Pharisees! Although you cleanse the outside of the cup and the dish, inside you are filled with plunder and evil. You fools! Did not the maker of the outside also make the inside? But as to what is within, give alms, and behold, everything will be clean for you.”

It’s hard to imagine in what tone Jesus says these words to the Pharisee who invited him to dinner. Rude, accusative, and authoritarian are just some of the terms someone at that moment might have used to describe Jesus. Yet, it was the Pharisee who was amazed at Jesus not following the prescribed ritual of washing before the meal. The Greek word Luke used to describe the Pharisee is ἐθαύμασεν (ethaumasen), “to wonder” or “to marvel.” The Pharisee’s amazement was based on his adherence to the law and Jesus’ disobedience to the law. In the first reading, Saint Paul faces the same strict adherence to the law that Jesus say, when he said, “every man who has himself circumcised . . . is bound to observe the entire law.” Instead, Jesus says, “Give alms, and behold, everything will be clean for you.”

Only faith working through love is what counts, Saint Paul says. To avoid the hypocrisy of the Pharisees, I have to consider areas in my life where I am strict and unrelenting. God, help me understand that on my own, I am incapable of avoiding hypocrisy and being a complete, loving person made in your image. It is you, who make everything clean for me. It is my faith and your love that will make everything whole. “Give alms,” Jesus says. What can I do, Lord, to help the poor today? Make that clear to me, and give me the opportunity to act.

Thank you, Lord, for your presence by making clear where love is needed. Sometimes I see presented to me two ways: one, where I act out of love and look in another’s eyes and see what is needed; another, where I respond rudely or rigidly or with sarcasm and look over what is most needed—love. Teach me to see so that I choose love.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Readings

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpuJ5WytCOA

Saturday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time

While Jesus was speaking, a woman from the crowd called out and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that carried you and the breasts at which you nursed.” He replied, “Rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.”

Today’s short Gospel reading echoes the words Elizabeth spoke on greeting her cousin Mary: “Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.” Mary carried and bore Jesus, the Incarnate Word of God. For that reason, Mary was born free of original sin to be the Ark of the New Covenant. When Jesus replies to the woman, the word of God he refers to includes Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

God, help me understand the mystery of your Incarnation. To hear and observe your word should be my primary aim every day. On my own, I will fail time after time, but through your grace—or as Saint Paul put it, “clothed with Christ”—it makes hearing and observing your word possible. Lord, I ask for that grace today; help me see.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Readings

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6ufFVFbOvU