St. Hedwig, religious

 St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, virgin

 ＂We must adore the decrees of the almighty not only in happy days,

    but also in those of sorrow and bereavement. ＂

                                                                   - St. Hedwig

 

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊     

Romans 3:21-30

But, now

It has been revealed, altogether apart from the law, as it was already foretold in the law and the prophets:

God makes us righteous by means of faith in Jesus Christ, and this is applied to all who believe, without distinction of persons.

Because all have sinned and all fall short of the glory of God; and all are graciously forgiven and made righteous,

through the redemption effected in Christ Jesus. For God has given him to be the victim, whose blood obtains us forgiveness, through faith.

 

So God shows us, how he makes us righteous. Past sins are forgiven, which God overlooked till now.

For, now, he wants to reveal his way of righteousness: how he is just, and how he makes us righteous, through faith in Jesus.

 

Then, what becomes of our pride? It is excluded. How? Not through the law and its observances, but through another law, which is faith.

For we hold, that people are in God's grace, by faith, and not because of all the things ordered by the law.

Otherwise, God would be the God of the Jews; but is he not God of pagan nations as well?

Of course he is, for there is only one God, and he will save, by faith, the circumcised Jews, as well as the uncircumcised nations.

 

Ps 130:1b-2, 3-4, 5-6ab

With the Lord there is mercy, and fullness of redemption.

 

＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊      

Luke 11:47-54

A curse is on you, for you build monuments to the prophets your ancestors killed.

So you approve and agree with what your ancestors did. Is it not so?

They got rid of the prophets, and you build monuments to them!

 

For that reason, the wisdom of God also said:

I will send prophets and apostles and these people will kill and persecute some of them.

But the present generation will have to answer for the blood of all the prophets that has been

shed since the foundation of the world, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah,

who was murdered between the altar and the Sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, the people of this time will have to answer for them all.

 

A curse is on you, teachers of the law, for you have taken the key of knowledge.

You yourselves have not entered, and you prevented others from entering."

 

As Jesus left that place, the teachers of the law and the Pharisees began to harass him,

asking him endless questions, setting traps to catch him in something he might say.

 

Gospel Reflection ：

"Christ's loving heart is our shield."

Saint Margaret Mary had a divine mission to make known the immense riches of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

At her canonization, Pope Benedict XV said that her mission and message was universal

in that the whole Church should grow to love the Sacred Heart devotion,

that all might know more intimately how much Christ's heart is "inflamed with love" for us. In her visions,

Christ named Margaret Mary his "disciple of My Sacred Heart."

She was called to be a humble disciple, guarding particularly against the sins of pride, despair and gluttony.

 

In the face of intense temptation to these sins, Christ promised to be an "impregnable fortress," protecting her.

Thus, Saint Margaret Mary teaches us that Christ's loving heart is our shield against giving in to temptation.

In this way there is no room for pride, as we rely not on our own strength, but that of the Lord.

Saint Paul teaches us that pride has no place in our redemption either, since "all are graciously forgiven and made righteous,

through the redemption effected in Christ Jesus." Saint Margaret Mary,

teach us to love the Sacred Heart of Jesus, a Heart that burns with love for us.