Jesus keeps the strongest language to condemn teachers of the Law and Pharisees.

You hypocrites, This people draws near to Me with their mouth, and honors Me with their lips; but their heart is far from Me.

Lord, reveal to me my hidden faults and heal me.

The Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊ 

2 Thessalonians 1:1-5, 11-12*

(…..) Brothers and sisters,

We should give thanks to God, at all times, for you. it is fitting to do so, for your faith is growing, and your love for one another, increasing. We take pride in you, among the churches of God.

because of your endurance, and your faith in the midst of persecution and sufferings. In this , the just judgment of God may be seen; for you must show yourselves worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are now suffering.

This is why we constantly pray for you; may our God make you worthy of his calling. May he, by his power, fulfill your good purposes, and your work, prompted by faith. In that way, the name of Jesus, our Lord, will be glorified through you, and you, through him, according to the loving plan of God and of Christ Jesus, the Lord.

 

Ps 96:1-2a, 2b-3,4-5

Proclaim God’s marvelous deeds to all the nations.  

 

＊＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊＊     

Matthew 23:13-22

But woe to you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door to the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor do you allow others to do so.

Woe to you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees, you hypocrites!   You travel by sea and land to win a single convert, yet once he is converted, you turn him twice as fit for hell as yourselves. Woe to you, blind guides! You say: To swear by the Temple is not binding, but to swear by the treasure of the Tem­ple is.  

 Blind fools! Which is of more worth? The gold in the Temple or the Tem­ple which makes the gold a sacred treasure? You say:  To swear by the altar is not binding, but to swear by the offering on the altar is.  

How blind you are! Which is of more value: the offering on the altar or the altar which makes the offering sacred?  Whoever swears by the altar is swearing by the altar and by everything on it.  Whoever swears by the Temple is swearing by it and by God who dwells in the Temple.   Whoever swears by heaven is swearing by the throne of God and by him who is seated on it.

 

 Gospel Reflection：

Being Worthy

Paul commends the Thessalonian Church for her faith, love, and endurance amidst persecutions. She has lived her faith well. However, he also prays that God may make her worthy of His calling This is the nature of God’s calling: He calls us when we are still unworthy; in spite of our unworthiness and not because of our worthiness.

God, then, keeps working in us – provided we open ourselves to His Grace – to make us worthy of the call that He had gratuitously given to us already. We are an unfinished work until our last breath and until we reach Him.

Mother Mary, whose queenship we celebrate today, is our prime example of what destiny awaits us if we cooperate with God’s Grace in His work of making us worthy. And if we resist, we resist at our own peril: the woes pronounced by Jesus would then be our destiny.