“When we serve the poor and the sick we serve Jesus.

We must not fail to help our neighbors, because in them we serve Jesus.”

                                            ~~~ ST. ROSE OF LIMA  ~~~

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊ 

2 Thessalonians 2:1-3a, 14-17

Brothers and sisters,

Let us speak about the coming of Christ Jesus, our Lord, and our gathering to meet him. Do not be easily unsettled. Do not be alarmed by what a prophet says, or by any report, or by some letter said to be ours, saying, the day of the Lord is at hand. Do not let yourselves be deceived, in any way.

To this end he called you, through the gospel we preach, for he willed you, to share the glory of Christ Jesus, our Lord.

Because of that, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold to the traditions that we taught you, by word or by letter. May Christ Jesus, our Lord, who has loved us, may God our Father, who in his mercy, gives us everlasting comfort and true hope, strengthen you. May he encourage your hearts and make you steadfast in every good work and word.

 

Ps 96:10, 11-12, 13

The Lord comes to judge the earth.

 

＊＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊＊   

Matthew 23:23-26

Woe to you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You do not for­get the mint, anise and cumin seeds when you pay the tenth of everything, but then you forget what is most fundamental in the Law: justice, mercy and faith. These you must practice, without neglecting the others.   Blind guides! You strain out a mosquito, but swallow a camel.

Woe to you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You fill the plate and the cup with theft and violence, and then pronounce a blessing over them.  Blind Pharisee! Purify the inside first, then the outside too will be purified.

 

 Gospel Reflection：

Examen of Conscience

“Purify the inside first, then the outside, too, will be purified.” How easily we forget this, and how conveniently so! We are all eager to change the world out there: it is enough to observe our conversations across dining tables or at market places or even at meetings and conferences to arrive at this conclusion. Rare are the people who work on themselves, their insides.

 

We preach faith and morality from the housetops and are oblivious, innocently or deliberately, to the mess within. This disconnect between the inside and the outside explains, not only many of our physical and emotional illnesses, but also all kinds of abuse stories, sexual, financial, pastoral, etc., that we hear around.

Even in many religious houses, the daily examination of conscience has become a thing of the past. It is time to make the examen at the end of the day a non-negotiable daily practice, for every Christian.