Tuesday - August 25, 2020
All day the just man is merciful and lends. Let us lay hold of this blessing, let us earn the name of being considerate, let us be generous. Not even night should interrupt you in your duty of mercy. Do not say "Come back and I will give you something tomorrow." There should be no delay between your intention and your good deed. Generosity is the one thing that cannot admit of delay.
-- Saint Gregory Nazianzen
All day the just man is merciful and lends. Let us lay hold of this blessing, let us earn the name of being considerate, let us be generous. Not even night should interrupt you in your duty of mercy. Do not say "Come back and I will give you something tomorrow." There should be no delay between your intention and your good deed. Generosity is the one thing that cannot admit of delay.
-- Saint Gregory Nazianzen
Readings at Mass
Ordinary Time: August 25th
| First reading |
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| 2 Thessalonians 2:1-3,14-17 © |
Stand firm and keep the traditions we have taught you
To turn, brothers, to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and how we shall all be gathered round him: please do not get excited too soon or alarmed by any prediction or rumour or any letter claiming to come from us, implying that the Day of the Lord has already arrived. Never let anyone deceive you in this way.
Through the Good News that we brought God called you to this so that you should share the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Stand firm, then, brothers, and keep the traditions that we taught you, whether by word of mouth or by letter. May our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father who has given us his love and, through his grace, such inexhaustible comfort and such sure hope, comfort you and strengthen you in everything good that you do or say.
| Responsorial Psalm |
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| Psalm 95(96):10-13 © |
The Lord comes to rule the earth.
Proclaim to the nations: ‘God is king.’
The world he made firm in its place;
he will judge the peoples in fairness.
The Lord comes to rule the earth.
Let the heavens rejoice and earth be glad,
let the sea and all within it thunder praise,
let the land and all it bears rejoice,
all the trees of the wood shout for joy
at the presence of the Lord for he comes,
he comes to rule the earth.
The Lord comes to rule the earth.
With justice he will rule the world,
he will judge the peoples with his truth.
The Lord comes to rule the earth.
| Gospel Acclamation | cf.Ac16:14 |
|---|
Alleluia, alleluia!
Open our heart, O Lord,
to accept the words of your Son.
Alleluia!
| Or: | Heb4:12 |
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Alleluia, alleluia!
The word of God is something alive and active:
it can judge secret emotions and thoughts.
Alleluia!
| Gospel |
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| Matthew 23:23-26 © |
Clean the inside of the cup first, so that the outside may become clean
Jesus said: ‘Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You who pay your tithe of mint and dill and cumin and have neglected the weightier matters of the Law – justice, mercy, good faith! These you should have practised, without neglecting the others. You blind guides! Straining out gnats and swallowing camels!
‘Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You who clean the outside of cup and dish and leave the inside full of extortion and intemperance. Blind Pharisee! Clean the inside of cup and dish first so that the outside may become clean as well.’
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Judgment with Mercy and Fidelity
Today, whenever we hurt people while religiously adhering to whatever is "our policy" or "we've always done it that way" or "the proper way to perform rituals", we are no better than the Pharisees, and Jesus says woe to us! The official teachings of the Church tell us that the application of norms, rules, and policies -- even Canon Law itself -- must never interfere with a person's salvation.
Jesus said that we need to purify ourselves whenever our efforts to obey the lesser laws make us neglect the highest law, which is the Law of Love ("Love one another as I have loved you").
We slip into Pharisee-mode when we forget that the rules don't all weigh the same or by being more afraid of breaking the law than of breaking someone's spirit. It's good and right that we desire to obey all the teachings of the Church and that we want others to obey them too, but we need to remember that Jesus listed three laws as the most important: judgment, mercy, and fidelity. It's interesting why he would list these together: To be faithful (have fidelity) to God, we cannot pass judgment without mercy.
The right to make a judgment does not give us the right to be the judge. What if we know that the lady in front of us in the Communion line is divorced and remarried outside the Church? We can rightly judge that marital relations outside of a valid (i.e., sacramental) marriage is a sin. We can recall the Church law that says her ongoing sin makes her unworthy to receive the Eucharist.
However, we don't have all the facts. What if she wants an annulment from her first marriage but she's been persecuted for it and now she's afraid to proceed? Or what if she's merely ignorant of the value of getting an annulment? Would Jesus condemn her and refuse to give himself to her?
If we take on Christ's role as judge, as if we know what's in the hearts of those who are not obeying the rules, we place ourselves under God's condemnation. He's not looking at how well we enforce every rule; he's looking at how well we love, because love is what evangelizes, not legalism. When we give love, we give them Jesus, who is compassionate and full of mercy, which can inspire them to understand and embrace the teachings of the Church.
Judgment, mercy, and fidelity. They all work together to make a difference in our souls.
Today's Prayer
Forgive us, Lord, for worrying about appearances and for not going deeper into all the Words You give us. Give us true awareness of the need for mercy and love that exists in the world. Amen.
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God Bless You.....
The Rosary Family
The mother of Jesus promised St. Dominic that, “one day through the rosary & the scapular I shall save the world!”
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