Tag: false prophets

Memorial of Saint Irenaeus, Bishop and Martyr

From the responsorial psalm: “By the streams of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion. On the aspens of that land we hung up our harps. Let my tongue be silenced, if I ever forget you!”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 8:1-4)

When Jesus came down from the mountain, great crowds followed him. And then a leper approached, did him homage, and said, “Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean.” He stretched out his hand, touched him, and said, “I will do it. Be made clean.” His leprosy was cleansed immediately. Then Jesus said to him, “See that you tell no one, but go show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses prescribed; that will be proof for them.”

As the leper approaches Jesus, he finds immediately in the Lord the words and actions that heal him. There is a flowing correspondence between Jesus, the Lord, and the leper who wishes to be made clean. In his homage of Jesus and in stretching out his hand, the leper is in every way receptive to the Lord cleansing him of his leprosy. The result of his faith was immediate healing. Matthew does not make explicit why Jesus says to the man to tell no one, except that showing himself to the priest and offering a gift was in accordance with Mosaic law. In instructing the man to show himself to the priest, Jesus restores his place within the community; in telling him to offer a gift, he sends the man off in a spirit of gratitude. Just as much, Jesus desires us to be grateful for the sake of glory.

God, help me be grateful today for every good gift you give me. Heal me, Lord, in body and spirit so that I can go through the day cleansed of anything that would obscure my sight of you, fully aware that you guide me and will for me to remain in you. Give me the wisdom to hold to this today and always. As Saint Irenaeus said, “Faith is established upon things truly real, that we may believe what really is, as it is. And believing what really is, as it is, we may always keep our conviction of it firm.” Saint Irenaeus, pray for us!

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Thursday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time

From the responsorial psalm: “Help us, O God our savior, because of the glory of your name; Deliver us and pardon our sins for your name’s sake. For the glory of your name, O Lord, deliver us.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 7:21-29)

Jesus said to his disciples: “Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock. And everyone who listens to these words of mine but does not act on them will be like a fool who built his house on sand. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. And it collapsed and was completely ruined.”

Continuing from yesterday’s Gospel, Jesus teaches the disciples what it means to do the will of the Father. Referring to false prophets, Jesus says of them, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the Kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.” The miraculous works of the false prophets—prophesying in the Lord’s name, driving out demons—are not in themselves the measure of faith but instead one built on sincerely hearing and doing the will of the Father.

God, help me today as I strive to know and do your will, and give me the grace to be genuine in my relationship with you. I hear in the Gospel acclamation “Remain in me, as I remain in you, says the Lord; whoever remains in me will bear much fruit.” Help me live out my faith in truth and in a way that is pleasing to you.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

“So by their fruits you will know them.” | Wednesday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time

From the responsorial psalm: “Turn away my eyes from seeing what is vain: by your way give me life. Teach me the way of your decrees, O Lord.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 7:15-20)

Jesus said to his disciples: “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but underneath are ravenous wolves. By their fruits you will know them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Just so, every good tree bears good fruit, and a rotten tree bears bad fruit.”

Jesus continues to teach his disciples about the way to the Father. Warning them to avoid false profits, he identifies them to the disciples as the ones who bear rotten fruit. “A good tree,” he says, “cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a rotten tree bear good fruit.” In two ways, from the source and by their words and actions, false prophets identify themselves. By this, Jesus teaches us to avoid them and to remain in him to bear good fruit.

God, help me discern the thistles and thorn bushes I come across today, the voices that would lead me away from you into a place of discord and confusion. “Every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down,” Jesus says, “and thrown into the fire. So by their fruits you will know them.” Give me the grace, Lord, to be drawn to what is good and also to remain in you through my words and actions.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Wednesday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time: Reflection

Jesus said to his disciples: “Just so, every good tree bears good fruit, and a rotten tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a rotten tree bear good fruit.”

These words of Jesus from today’s Gospel reading are clear enough: goodness comes from what is good and rottenness from what is evil. The section of Matthew’s Gospel this comes from is titled “False Prophets.” The passage begins “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but underneath are ravenous wolves. By their fruits you will know them.” Jesus describes people who appear to proclaim the faith for the glory of God but in truth are deceivers.

God, help me see the false prophets of my time. It is not only money-loving televangelists who deceive but every YouTuber who lures viewers only for the sake of private gain or self-aggrandizement. More than that, swindlers abound and thrive on social media, promulgating a self-enclosing mystique all for the sake of gaining followers and greater profit. God, help me understand whose views to avoid and disregard: “By their fruits you will know them.”

And I can’t discount that the most treacherous prophet I may face today is myself. To the degree that I refuse to let go of the wheel, to be bent on my way only, the claims I make and the demands I place in order to achieve my ends are rotten fruit from a bare, rotten tree. God, teach me to be a supple bough that blows in the wind where your Spirit wills.

As the day passes, let me be aware of the voices of the false prophets, those who would draw me into a fog, into a stupor, when instead there is such simple beauty in nature and in those closest to me—the fruit of God’s creation.

USCCB Readings