” In prosperity, give thanks to God with humility and fear, lest by pride,

you abuse God's benefits and so offend him. “
                                                                                         

                                                          - St. Louis   

 

St. Joseph Calasanz, priest 

St. Louis

25 AUGUST Monday

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊     

1 Thessalonians 1:1-5, 8b-10  

From Paul,

Sylvanus and Timothy, to the church of Thessalonica,

which is in God, the Father, and in Christ Jesus, the Lord.

May the peace and grace of God be with you.

We give thanks to God, at all times, for you, and remember you in our prayers.

We constantly recall, before God, our Father, the work of your faith,

the labors of your love, and your endurance, in waiting

for Christ Jesus our Lord.

 

We remember, brothers and sisters, the circumstances of your being called.

The gospel we brought you was such, not only in words. Miracles, the Holy Spirit,

and plenty of everything, were given to you. You, also, know how we dealt with you, for your sake.

The faith you have in God has become news in so many places, that we need say no more about it.

Others tell, of how you welcomed us, and turned from idols, to the Lord.

For you serve the living and true God, and you wait for his Son, from heaven,

whom he raised from the dead, Jesus, who frees us from impending trial.

 

Ps 149:1b-2, 3-4, 5-6a & 9b

The Lord takes delight in his people.

 

＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊      

Matthew 23:13-22

But woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! you shut the door to the kingdom of heaven 

in people's faces. You, yourselves, do not enter it, nor do you allow

others to do so.

 

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You devour widows' property; and as a show, you pray long prayers!

Therefore, you shall receive greater condemnation. Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites!

You travel by sea and land to make a single convert; yet, once he is converted, you make him twice as fit for hell as yourselves!

Woe to you, blind guides! You say: To swear by the temple is not binding; but, to swear by the gold of the temple is binding. Foolish men!

Blind men! Which is of more worth: the gold in the temple, or the temple which makes the gold a sacred treasure?

You say: To swear by the altar is not binding, but to swear by the offering on the altar is binding.

 

How blind you are! Which is of more value: the offering on the altar, or the altar which makes the offering sacred?

Whoever swears by the altar, is swearing by the altar and by everything on it.

Whoever swears by the temple, is swearing by the temple, and by God, who dwells in the temple.

Whoever swears by heaven, is swearing by the throne of God, and by him, who is seated on it.

 

Gospel Reflection ：

"God's mercy is plentiju"

Today's reading contains a long list of woes, as Jesus describes the sorrowful fate of the scribes

and the Pharisees on account of their hypocrisy. They make a great show of being men of religion,

but their lives are poor in charity and integrity. Accusations of hypocrisy are levelled against the Church and her members in our own day.

The Church has many flaws and faults, and scandals of abuse and corruption have undermined people's faith.

But are we all hypocrites? Saint John Henry Newman broaches this subject in one of his sermons,

 

saying that there is a difference between hypocrisy and weakness,

in that hypocrisy lacks the recognition of faults or the desire to try to do better. This is why Jesus calls them "blind guides,"

as they lack the awareness of their sins and teach others to follow their example.

Thus, the desire to improve in response to God's call prevents our sins being clouded in hypocrisy or ending in complacency,

but neither should our recognition of our sinfulness lead to despair when improvement comes slowly, since God's mercy is plentiful (Ps 130:7).