Daily Mass Reflections - 8/27
The topic of hypocrisy is once again front and center in today’s Gospel (Matthew 23:13-22) wherein it would appear at first glance that Jesus is really giving it to the Pharisees.
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. you lock the Kingdom of Heaven before men. You do not enter yourselves, nor do you allow entrance to those trying to enter”
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You traverse sea and land to make one convert, and when that happens you make him a child of Gehenna twice as much as yourself.”
“Woe to you, blind guides, who say ‘If one swears by the temple it means nothing, but if one swears by the gold of the temple one is obligated’”
And this was merely the first verse.
in reality however, this was not a chewing out but instead a message rooted in compassion. In delivering this wake-up call to the Pharisees, Jesus was in fact seeking to save the souls of the hypocritical Pharisees by igniting a conversion within their hearts.
If each of us were to conduct a thorough examination of conscience, we’d probably all admit that we too act at times much like the Pharisees in some ways. It’s simply part of our fallen nature, the wages of original sin. But on the day we celebrate the Feast Day of Saint Monica, we are reminded of the power of persistent prayer. This was a woman of dogged faith, devoting her life to prayer, particularly for her son, a troubled young man who would go on to become a saint in his own right, of course I’m talking about Saint Augustine, whose Feast Day we will celebrate tomorrow.
Saint Monica and all the saints were living, breathing examples of what a vibrant prayer life, one in which we turn everything over to God, including our will, can accomplish.
We can’t do it alone and we shouldn’t be ashamed to admit that. Prayer changes everything. Thanks be to God.
