St. Hedwig, religious 

St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, virgin

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊

Ephesians 1:11-14

 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,  

To the saints in Ephesus, to you who share Christian faith:  receive grace and peace from God our Father and from Jesus the Lord.  Blessed be God, the Father of Christ Jesus our Lord, who in Christ has blessed us from heaven with every spiritual blessing.

God chose us in Christ before the creation of the world to be holy and without sin in his presence. From eternity he destined us in love to be his adopted sons and daughters through Christ Jesus, thus fulfilling his free and generous will.

This goal suited him: that his loving-kindness which he granted us in his Beloved might finally receive all glory and praise. For in Christ we obtain freedom, sealed by his blood, and have the forgiveness of sins. In this appears the greatness of his grace, which he lavished on us.

In all wisdom and understanding, God has made known to us his mysterious design, in accordance with his loving-kindness in Christ.  In him and under him God wanted to unite, when the fullness of time had come, everything in heaven and on earth.

By a decree of Him who disposes all things according to his own plan and decision we, the Jews, have been chosen and called and we were awaiting the Messiah, for the praise of his glory.  You, on hearing the word of truth, the Gospel that saves you, have believed in him.

And, as promised, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit, the first pledge of what we shall receive, on the way to our deliverance as a people of God, for the praise of his glory.

 

Ps 33:1-2, 4-5, 12-13

Blessed be the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.

 

＊＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊＊

Luke 12:1-7

Meanwhile, such a numerous crowd had gathered that they crushed one another. Then Jesus spoke to his disciples in this way, “Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees which is hypocrisy. Nothing is covered that will not be uncovered, or hidden that will not be made known.

 Whatever you have said in the darkness will be heard in daylight, and what you have whispered in hidden places, will be proclaimed from the housetops. I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who put to death the body and af­ter that can do no more. B

ut I will tell you whom to fear: Fear the One who after killing you is able to throw you into hell. This one you must fear.  Don’t you get five sparrows for two pennies? Yet not one of them has been forgotten by God.  Even the hairs of your head have been numbered. So do not fear: are you not worth more than a flock of sparrows?

 

Gospel Reflection：

One of the most beautiful Catholic traditions we have is the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. St. Margaret Mary Alacoque (1690+), our Saint for today, was the chosen vehicle for the promotion of this devotion.

As a Visitation nun she was visited by Jesus who revealed to her His wounded Sacred Heart.  Jesus revealed to her His anguish of being alone in the garden of Gethsemane and his desire, therefore, for a Holy Hour before the Blessed Sacrament on 1^st Thursdays and the 1^st Friday devotion in reparation for sins against the most Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Jesus told her that the most painful wound He has was the wound of people doubting His mercy, of people thinking that their sins are unforgivable and beyond the cleansing power of His blood.

The last temptation of Satan is what the Gospel today calls the “yeast of hypocrisy” or the sin of pride with Satan telling the sinner that he or she does not need to be forgiven. The message of Jesus to Margaret Mary Alacoque was that Jesus loves us all from wounded heart, from a pierced heart flowed blood and water that cleans sinners who surrender to the “wounded Lover,