Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 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.
“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.
“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.’
Blind fools, which is greater, the gold,
or the temple that made the gold sacred?
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.”
Open the doors
1) The doors. This is a very complex issue which I have started to analyze and have even made some self-criticism. I mean, of course, the issue of priests and people committed to the Church that close doors rather than open them. We apologize for closing the doors to the Church that is your family, your home. We apologize for the times you went to confession and instead of receiving comfort you received reprimand after reprimand. Forgive us because we even rebuked you for not knowing the prayer of the act of contrition. I apologize for closing the doors when that person from Church approached you the first time you went to the chapel and instead of welcoming you, they asked more questions of you than the secret service would have asked. Forgive us for the times that we looked at you angrily during Mass when your young child cried, and we made you feel that your child bothered us. Forgive us, dear teenager, for when you declined abortion andhad the courage to keep your baby , we expelled you from the parish school because we thought you weren’t a good example.Instead of thanking you for your courage, and helping you.
From today on, let’s ask the doors of our kingdom to be opened. Let’s strive for everyone to be saved and let’s work so that Jesus can reach everyone.
2) Proselytism and fanaticism. These are the other issues that we must work on within the Church, which many times can seem that instead of being a home and school of communion, we turn it into a sort of soccer championship – the only thing we are missing is that each group or parochial or diocesan movement goes to the Church with a soccer shirt! We are all on the same team, Heaven’s! But instead of thinking of what is best for the Church, we want our movement or group to be the best. The Church will not improve with a greater number of members, but rather, through improved services it offers based on prayer and humility. In Church we don’t evangelize through proselytism, but rather by attraction.
3) When the means becomes the end. This is a third issue that we must work on. When the parish prioritizes earning money rather than to win over souls. This is what happens when you mix things up, when you go to Mass because you like the priest’s homily instead of going for Jesus and the Eucharist.We priests are merely a means to an end. This can also happen to you when you focus on making money for your home and family, but you don’t enjoy either the home or your family.
Come on, with Christ everything is possible, let us open doors and let us be a great family that welcomes and comforts everyone.Let us not banish the ‘dirtiest’ people. Let us embrace them, clean them, and walk together with them.
God bless you in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Don’t forget: Heaven is Our Goal!
