“ Do not be disturbed by the clamor the world, which passes like a shadow.” ---- St. Clare, virgin

It encourages detachment from worldly distractions and fleeting pursuits,
emphasizing the ephemeral nature of material things and the importance of focusing on what is eternal.

 

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊     

Deuteronomy 10:12-22

So now, Israel,

What is it that the Lord, your God, asks of you but to fear him and follow all his ways?

Love him and serve him with all your heart and with all your soul. Observe the commandments of the Lord

and his laws which I command you today, for your good. See: the heavens,

those that are seen and those that are unseen, the earth and all that is in it, everything belongs to the Lord, your God.

Nevertheless, it was on your fathers that the Lord set his heart. He loved them, and after them,

he chose their descendants you preferring you to all the peoples, as you can see this day.

 

Purify your hearts, then, and do not be defiant towards the Lord because the Lord is the God of gods and the Lord of lords.

He is the great God, the strong and terrible God. When he judges, he treats everyone equally;

he does not let himself be bought by gifts. He renders justice to the orphan and the widow,

and loves the stranger, giving him bread and clothing. Love the stranger then, because you yourselves were strangers in the land of Egypt.

 

Fear the Lord, your God, serve him, follow him and call on his name when you have to make an oath.

He is your pride and he is your God, who has done. those amazing things for you.

When you went down to Egypt, your ancestors were no more than seventy persons,

but now, the Lord, your God, has made you as many as the stars of heaven.

 

Ps 147:12-13, 14-15, 19-

Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.

 

＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊      

Matthew 17:22-27

While Jesus was in Galilee with the Twelve, he said to them, "The Son of Man will be delivered into the hands of men,

and they will kill him. But he will rise on the third day." The Twelve were deeply grieved.

When they returned to Capernaum, the temple tax collectors came to Peter and asked him, "Does your master pay the temple tax?" He answered, "Yes."

Peter then entered the house; and immediately, Jesus asked him, "What do you think, Simon?

Who pay taxes or tribute to the kings of the earth: their sons or strangers and aliens?" Peter replied, "Strangers and aliens."

And Jesus told him, "The sons, then, are tax- free. But, so as not to offend these people, go to the sea, throw in a hook,

and open the mouth of the first fish you catch. You will find a coin in it. Take the coin and give it to them for you and for me."

 

Gospel Reflection ：

"Called to be a mirror of Christ."

"Purify your hearts and do not be defiant" to God. Saint Clare followed the example of Saint Francis of Assisi

and sought to purify her heart by living a life of simplicity in dedication to prayer and to the poor.

This spiritual purification also had the purpose of polishing the mirror of the soul,

so that it would reflect Christ with as few smudges or smears as possible.

 

The use of metaphor of the mirror was widespread in female spirituality of the Middle Ages. For Saint Clare,

the human person is the image of the Image, that is the Son of God, and so human beings are called to be a mirror of Christ for others,

called to reflect Christ in their very being. However, Christ on the cross is also a mirror for us, as he lets us see who we truly are.

Thus, Christ is not only the Image in which we were created, but also our call to conversion and the source of our salvation.

We are not strangers to God. By being God's image, we belong to him, and so we have the right and duty to stay close to him.