Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 11, 42-46
The Lord said:
“Woe to you Pharisees!
You pay tithes of mint and of rue and of every garden herb,
but you pay no attention to judgment and to love for God.
These you should have done, without overlooking the others.
Woe to you Pharisees!
You love the seat of honor in synagogues
and greetings in marketplaces.
Woe to you!
You are like unseen graves over which people unknowingly walk.”
Then one of the scholars of the law said to him in reply,
“Teacher, by saying this you are insulting us too.”
And he said, “Woe also to you scholars of the law!
You impose on people burdens hard to carry,
but you yourselves do not lift one finger to touch them.”
Propose, don’t impose
1. Neglect. Jesus’s words “you pay no attention to judgment and to love for God” really touch me. This is a wake-up call for all of us who call ourselves Catholics. So many times, we stick to norms, to mere empty rituals and neglect the freshness of the Gospel, failing to notice the love of God in so many tiny things every day; we seem to ignore his goodness. Today, pay attention to how you live religion. Are you a ritualistic Catholic focusing on a mere structure or are you celebrating your religion with a freshness that makes you free?
2. Honor and positions. This is an evil that inhabits every field, even the Church. It’s the desire to gain positions, to feel that you are more important than others because of your position and apparent success. Life is not about positions. Remember that life is like an omelette, today you are on top and tomorrow you are at the bottom.
3. Don’t impose. Remember that Christianity is a vocation, a calling, a life option and a choice. That’s why you shouldn’t go around demanding or harassing anyone in the path of faith, because that causes rejection and even the wrong perception of God. Don’t stop proposing and showing the freshness of the Gospel through your attitudes. Courage, God is with you!
Never forget that something good is on the way!
God bless you and guard you in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
