Jesus told 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.

Jesus loves us all from , from a pierced heart flowed blood and water that cleans sinners.

 

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊  

1st Reading: Romans 4:1-8

Let us consider Abraham,

Our father in the flesh. What has he found? If Abraham attained righteousness because of his deeds, he could be proud. But he cannot be this before God. Because Scripture says: Abraham believed God who took it into account and held him to be a just man.

Now, when someone does a work, salary is not given as a favor, but as a debt that is paid. Here, on the contrary, someone who has no deeds to show but believes in Him who makes sinners righteous before him: such faith is taken into account and that person is held as righteous.

David congratulates in this way those who become righteous by the favor of God, and not by their actions: Blessed are those whose sins are forgiven and whose offenses are forgotten; blessed the one whose sin God does not take into account!

 

Ps 32:1b-2,5,11

 I turn to you, Lord, in time of trouble. and you fill me with the joy of salvation.

 

＊＊＊ 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. But 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. Don't be afraid! Are you less worthy in the eyes of God than many sparrows?

 

Gospel Reflection ：

 

"Sin separates us from God."

Most people have a few fears that they must negotiate in everyday life. I have a terrible fear of heights. I don't even like to stand on the top step of a ladder. It is very easy to become imprisoned by our fears, allowing them to constrain our lives, limiting our options. Even more dangerous is when our fears distance us from our brothers and sisters, keeping us apart in relationships marked by fear rather than love.

 

In the Gospel today, Jesus dispels these fears by pointing out that they can do little permanent harm. There is only one fear that matters: the fear of being separated from God forever. Imagine how differently we would act if we were as afraid of sinning as we are of heights or spiders or the dark. Sin separates us from God, rupturing our relationship with him.

May God give us the grace to fear sin and to seek holiness so that we can live with him forever in heaven.