“ We must not fail to help our neighbors, because in them we serve Jesus. “

Acts of charity and service to others, are seen as direct service to Jesus himself.

He says, "Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you did it to me". 

 

Blessed Virgin Mary

St. Rose of Lima, virgin

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊     

Ruth 2:1-3,8-11;4:13-17

Naomi had a well-to-do kinsman,

Boaz, from the clan of her husband Elimelech. And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi,

"Let me go to pick up the left-over grain in the field whose owner will allow me that favor."

Naomi said, "Go ahead, my daughter." So she went to glean in the fields behind the harvesters.

It happened that, the field she entered belonged to Boaz of the clan of Elimelech.

 

So Ruth was taken by Boaz and became his wife. The Lord made her conceive and give birth to a son.

The women said to Naomi, "Blessed be the Lord who has provided you today with an heir.

May he become famous in Israel! He will be your comfort and stay in your old age,

for he is born of a daughter-in-law who loves you and is worth more than seven sons."

Naomi took the child as her own and became his nurse. And the women of the neighborhood gave him his name, saying,

"A son has been born for Naomi."They named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, who was David's father.

 

Ps 128:1b-2, 3, 4, 5

See how the Lord blesses those who fear him.

 

 ＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊      

Matthew 23:1-12

hen Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, "The teachers of the law and the Pharisees have sat down on the chair of Moses.

So you shall do and observe all they say; but do not do as they do, for they do not do what they say.

They tie up heavy burdens and load them on the shoulders of the people, but they do not even lift a finger to move them.

They do everything in order to be seen by people: they wear very wide bands of the law around their foreheads,

and robes with large tassels. They enjoy the first places at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues,

and they like being greeted in the marketplace, and being called 'Master' by the people.

 

But you, do not let yourselves be called Master, because you have only one Master, and all of you are brothers and sisters.

Neither should you call anyone on earth Father, because you have only one Father, he who is in heaven.

Nor should you be called Leader, because Christ is the only Leader for you. Let the greatest among you be the servant of all.

For whoever makes himself great shall be humbled, and whoever humbles himself shall be made great.

 

Gospel Reflection ：

"Whoever humbles himself shall be made great."

Saint Rose of Lima was baptised Isabel, after her grandmother, but her beauty was extraordinary, even miraculous,

with different accounts describing a rose appearing over her cot or her face looking momentarily like the flower,

and so she was known as Rose. With its beautiful blooms and thorns, the rose has become symbolic of both love and suffering,

and it is an appropriate image of the life of Rose of Lima, who both suffered and loved greatly.

At a time when Peru was very socially divided, Rose's heart made no distinction between race, color or class.

 

Like the Pharisees, many of the nobles would have taken the places of honour and been called Master,

but Rose walked a penitential path which increased her love and humility, prompting her to set up

an interracial infirmary to serve the poor and sick. The Pharisees kept apart from those whom they considered to be ritually unclean.

Similarly, the high and mighty would have performed acts of charity by giving alms, but they would not have gone in person to help.

For Rose, there were no such barriers. Saint Rose, united to God and close to the needy, make our hearts burn with love.