August 26, 2013

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Monday of the Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time 
Lectionary: 425

Reading 11 THES 1:1-5, 8B-10

Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy to the Church of the Thessalonians
in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
grace to you and peace.

We give thanks to God always for all of you,
remembering you in our prayers,
unceasingly calling to mind your work of faith and labor of love
and endurance in hope of our Lord Jesus Christ,
before our God and Father,
knowing, brothers and sisters loved by God, how you were chosen.

St. Paul and his companions give thanks to God for the people of Thessalonica who have so generously given of their time and talents to the foundation of the Church of Jesus Christ.

For our Gospel did not come to you in word alone,
but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with much conviction.

Because they did not just respond by word.  But they responded whole heartedly with actions which showed the convictions of their heart.

You know what sort of people we were among you for your sake.
In every place your faith in God has gone forth,
so that we have no need to say anything.
For they themselves openly declare about us
what sort of reception we had among you,
and how you turned to God from idols
to serve the living and true God and to await his Son from heaven,
whom he raised from the dead, Jesus,
who delivers us from the coming wrath.

And the Thessalonicans have made a name for themselves by their witness to faith in Christ.  

Responsorial PsalmPS 149:1B-2, 3-4, 5-6A AND 9B

R. (see 4a) The Lord takes delight in his people.

or:

R. Alleluia.

Sing to the LORD a new song

of praise in the assembly of the faithful.

Let Israel be glad in their maker,

let the children of Zion rejoice in their king.

R. The Lord takes delight in his people.

or:

R. Alleluia.

Let them praise his name in the festive dance,

let them sing praise to him with timbrel and harp.

For the LORD loves his people,

and he adorns the lowly with victory.

R. The Lord takes delight in his people.

or:

R. Alleluia.

Let the faithful exult in glory;

let them sing for joy upon their couches;

Let the high praises of God be in their throats.

This is the glory of all his faithful. Alleluia!

R. The Lord takes delight in his people.

or:

R. Alleluia.

Remember always God's love for you.  He has loved us so much that He sent His only begotten Son to die that we might live.  

GospelMT 23:13-22

Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples:

“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.

This is not just a warning to the leaders of the Jewish people.  It is also a warning to us, those of us who make faith in God a matter of ritual and not a matter of love.  Those of us who take it upon ourselves to judge other people because they don't think as we do.  Or because they don't belong to the same religion to which we belong.

Remember that even the Catholic Church and the Sacraments are simply assistance unto salvation.  They are not guarantees of such.  God is our judge, one and all. 

“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 yourselves.

We also need to remember that we are not here to make people believe us.  We must point to the Church as the Church points to Christ.  We are not to place ourselves between God and man.  We are to lead men to God and remove ourselves as quickly as possible.  And it is in the Sacraments of the Catholic Church, in the Mass and in personally prayer that one can go directly to God.

“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.’

We can not love God and mammon.  Swearing upon gold is to place one's faith in mammon.  

Blind fools, which is greater, the gold,

or the temple that made the gold sacred?

And God is greater even than the Temple.  

And you say, ‘If one swears by the altar, it means nothing,

but if one swears by the gift on the altar, one is obligated.’

You blind ones, which is greater, the gift,

or the altar that makes the gift sacred?

One who swears by the altar swears by it and all that is upon it;

one who swears by the temple swears by it

and by him who dwells in it;

one who swears by heaven swears by the throne of God

and by him who is seated on it.”

God is the greatest of all.  But do not swear by God.  For it is not necessary.  Let your yes be yes and your no be no.  And don't swear by God.  Because it is very dangerous.  You will be judged by every careless word that comes out of your mouth.  And if you use God's name to swear by and don't fulfill your word, you will make God a liar and your judgment will be severe.  God is not a plaything to be taken trivially:

Hebrews 10:31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.