Wednesday - October 16, 2019
“To
succeed in your intentions, entrust yourselves to the Blessed Virgin Mary
always, but especially in moments of difficulty and darkness. ‘From Mary we
learn to surrender to God’s will in things. From Mary we learn to trust even
when all hope seems gone. From Mary we learn to love Christ, her Son and the
Son of God…Learn from her to be always faithful, to trust that God’s Word to
you will be fulfilled, and that nothing is impossible with God.’”
- St.
John Paul II
October 16 2019
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.
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."
******************************
The True Meaning of Justice
Justice and love. This is what Jesus is calling for in our Gospel reading today. Without these, woe are we!
Justice and love go hand-in-hand. Justice is not revenge, nor is it punishment. It's fairness. Love is the heart of Christian living; justice is its hands and feet.
Justice is not fairness as in: "Anything is okay as long as no one gets hurt". Even when legislatures and courts declare a law as just and fair, if it's not in accordance with the laws of God, people do get hurt. Not even the smallest sin can be justified, not even when it seems loving. Sinners get hurt by their separation from God, even if they do not recognize the separation. The target of the sin gets hurt, even if the damage is not visible, as do many others, because the effect of the sin ripples farther than any of us can see.
Sometimes we think that justice means retaliation. It's "eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth", but this is an unredeemed sort of justice. When Jesus came to redeem the world, he gave us the Golden Rule: Do to others what you'd like them to do to you, even though they might not do it to you, because you love your enemies and you're willing to go the extra mile for them.
Jesus raised us above the pre-redemption attitude of "do to others what they did to you, ha-ha, now we're even." In Christ, justice means protecting ourselves from further harm without a spirit of vengeance. We care about our enemies while taking good care of ourselves.
Sometimes we think that if no one demands their God-given right to be treated fairly, it's okay to overlook injustices, or if we don't see a way to resolve the unfairness, it's okay to do nothing about it. This is why bullies in the workplace are allowed to continue doing harm, prejudices continue to keep the downtrodden down, and insulting remarks about others are accepted as merely a brief lapse in good manners -- even in the Church!
Woe are we for the injustices of society when we who are the Church are not teaching what true justice looks like!
True justice is described in today's first reading. "Affliction and distress will come upon everyone who does evil." This is not the punishment of a revenging God. It's a "woe to you because you are reaping what you sow." God's anger is based on a genuine concern for those who are caught in the traps of sin. He's upset about the choices we make that cause our woe-full self-inflicted anguish.
The challenge before us is to learn what we can do about the injustices that God brings to our attention, then discern when and where and how to take action, caring for the victims and also caring about those who are committing the injustices. If we don't say yes to this challenge, woe are we!
This is so important, so very, very important, that I wish I could post these words on the wall of your house and your office and your church, in big neon letters: No injustice can be justifiably ignored, not for any reason! Woe are we -- and many others as well -- when we do nothing about the injustices that we witness.
Today's Prayer:
Lord, give me the grace to be Your instrument of announcing the Good News. Preserve me from the sin of omission and from doing good deeds only for the appearance of being good. May all my deeds have their root in You and in my love for my neighbors. Amen.
God Bless You.....
Rosary Family
The mother of Jesus promised St. Dominic that, “one day through the rosary & the scapular I shall save the world!”
No comments:
Post a Comment