Tag: Pharisees

“Do you still not understand?” | Tuesday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time

From the responsorial psalm: “The voice of the LORD is over the waters, the LORD, over vast waters. The voice of the LORD is mighty; the voice of the LORD is majestic.  The Lord will bless his people with peace.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark (8:14-21, today’s readings)

And do you not remember, when I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many wicker baskets full of fragments you picked up?” They answered him, “Twelve.” “When I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many full baskets of fragments did you pick up?” They answered him, “Seven.” He said to them, “Do you still not understand?”

On a boat with the disciples, they tell Jesus they have only one loaf of bread with them. Jesus says to them, “Watch out, guard against the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.” Jesus observes that they don’t understand him and asks them whether they comprehend what he means. “Are your hearts hardened?” he asks them. “Do you have eyes and not see, ears and not hear?” Because they don’t yet understand the identity of Jesus as the Son of God and his mission, he goes on to remind them of his feeding of the crowds and asks again if they still don’t understand, spoken not out of questioning their ability to comprehend him but out of love. In this way, he brings us not to a place of self-doubt but one of greater trust in his divinity and goodness as he invites the disciples and all of us to understand him more deeply.

God, help me remember today what Jesus calls me to in questioning my understanding of him. This is not to cast a shadow on your gift of intellect but to draw me closer to him. Let me welcome the question “Do you not yet understand or comprehend?” In a million years, I would not yet understand. Yet, Jesus condescends to make a place for me nearer and nearer to him as I grow to greater understanding through childlike faith. Give me the grace, Lord, to trust in your providence for everything and to stay in the boat with you in the midst of adversity. Give to the LORD the glory due his name!

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.

“Why does this generation seek a sign?” | Monday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time

From the responsorial psalm: “’You sit speaking against your brother; against your mother’s son you spread rumors. When you do these things, shall I be deaf to it? Or do you think that I am like yourself? I will correct you by drawing them up before your eyes.’ Offer to God a sacrifice of praise.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark (6:17, 20-26, today’s readings)

“Why does this generation seek a sign? Amen, I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation.”

The Pharisees come to Jesus asking for a sign from heaven. At this, Mark says, Jesus “sighed from the depth of his spirit.” After he tells them no sign will be given to them, he gets in the boat again and goes to the other shore, continuing his mission elsewhere. Jesus sighs, seeing as God sees, the blindness of his people. Just as God warned Cain about “a demon lurking at his door” and the psalmist calls out those who “sit speaking against your brother,” Jesus sees the evil we are capable of that he brings out into the light. God sees because he is God and we are not. Even in the presence of the Incarnate Word, the sight of faith sometimes fails to function. Jesus is not just a sign but the visible sign of the invisible God who delivers for us his ultimate plan for salvation.

God, help me see as you see. Through the truth of the risen Christ, I am set free to know and worship you, to find meaning even as I ponder the mystery of Christ’s passion, death, and resurrection. As Saint John Paul II said, “Through this revelation, men and women are offered the ultimate truth about their own life and about the goal of history.” I don’t see you, Lord, as I ought. In my shortcomings, strengthen my faith that you alone are the Lord, to offer you a sacrifice of praise in making yourself known through the incarnation of your Son. “I am the way and the truth and the life, says the Lord; no one comes to the Father except through me.” Jesus, I trust in 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.

“Evils come from within and they defile.”| Wednesday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

From the responsorial psalm: “Bless the LORD, O my soul! O LORD, my God, you are great indeed! You are clothed with majesty and glory, robed in light as with a cloak. O bless the Lord, my soul!”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark (Mark 7:14-23, today’s readings)

“But what comes out of the man, that is what defiles him. From within the man, from his heart, come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly. All these evils come from within and they defile.”

After the Pharisees criticize the disciples of Jesus for not following Jewish traditions of purification, Jesus tells the disciples, “Nothing that enters one from from outside can defile that person.” From the heart come a host of evil thoughts and actions, extending all the way back to original sin in the Garden of Eden. What defiles, Jesus tells us, is not what enters the stomach but what enters the heart and comes from within. This is why baptism and repentance are necessary to restore us to God, because God restores us to the truth. The Gospel acclamation for today is: “Your word, O Lord, is truth; consecrate us in the truth.” What we once took for ourselves from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, Jesus gives us abundantly through the sacraments—the embodiment of his passion, death, and resurrection.

God, in recognition that what defiles comes from within, flood me with your grace and mercy today. Left to myself, I have nothing; you are the source of every good gift. The vices that come from my heart have no place to hide in the dark but are scattered by the light of your face. Help me call to mind that after looking on everything you made, you found it very good. Be with me today, Lord.

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.

“You are the Son of God.” | Thursday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time

From the Gospel acclamation: “Our Savior Jesus Christ has destroyed death and brought life to light through the Gospel.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark (Mark 3:7-12)

He told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, so that they would not crush him. He had cured many and, as a result, those who had diseases were pressing upon him to touch him.

People come from many regions to see Jesus and to receive his healing. So great is the crowd that he speaks to them from a boat so that the people don’t crush him. Mark tells us that his power is such that people seek only to touch him to be cured. Even the unclean spirits fall down before him, shouting in recognition of the truth, “You are the Son of God.” The command to them not to tell anyone is an expression of the “Messianic Secret,” which is that Jesus keeps hidden the fullness of his divinity as he does the will of the Father. Just as Jesus reveals his divinity according to the Father’s will, he invites us to do the same in freely choosing to share the Gospel in a way that gives glory to God.

Father in heaven, help me call to mind today’s Gospel as I have the opportunity in encountering others to be an instrument of your love and healing. I often forget to bring the Gospel into key events of the day or, for that matter, any event of the day. Jesus knew where he was. He knew that the need people had even to touch him was so great that they would crush him as they pressed upon him. When I engage with people today, help me remember to look at them and know exactly where I am and who I am—a means of your mercy, even if the only expression of it is a smile or gentle reassurance. Give me the grace to take myself less seriously and return to you again and again in childlike faith in your truth, in the person of truth, Jesus Christ your Son.

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.

Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children

From the Gospel acclamation: “Jesus preached the Gospel of the Kingdom and cured every disease among the people.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark (Mark 3:1-6)

He said to the man with the withered hand, “Come up here before us.” Then he said to the Pharisees, “Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath rather than to do evil, to save life rather than to destroy it?” But they remained silent.

In the synagogue on the sabbath, the Pharisees watch Jesus closely in order to trap him. Without saying a word, the Pharisees speak from their heart, but the words of Jesus silence them, just as he commands unclean spirits to be silent. Mark tells us that Jesus looked around at the Pharisees with anger and was grieved at their hardness of heart. After the silence, Jesus says one more thing: “Stretch out your hand.” In the stillness that follows, Jesus restores the man’s withered hand. The Pharisees sought a way to take the life of Jesus, stretching out their hand to the Herodians and hearing a legion of voices tell them that by destroying the Prince of Peace, peace will be restored. In the midst of the day, will we take time in silence to seek healing from the Lord, to hear the voice of Jesus say, “Stretch out your hand”?

God, help me reflect on these words of Jesus on this day of prayer for the legal protection of unborn children. Just as he spoke in tenderness to the man with the withered hand, he speaks to everyone who calls on his name and seeks to be restored to you through the power of the Holy Spirit. “Stretch out your hand,” Jesus says, inviting us once again to be restored to the divine mercy of his Father—our Father—and the promise of eternal life as your children.

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.

“The sabbath was made for man.” | Memorial of Saint Agnes, Virgin and Martyr

From the responsorial psalm: “He has sent deliverance to his people; he has ratified his covenant forever; holy and awesome is his name. His praise endures forever. The Lord will remember his covenant for ever.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark (Mark 2:23-28)

At this the Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the sabbath?” He said to them, “Have you never read what David did when he was in need and he and his companions were hungry?”

Jesus responds to the Pharisees who question the disciples of Jesus as they pick the heads of grain on the sabbath. The tension between the interpretation of the law that Jesus offers them and their own strict interpretation centers on their claim that it is unlawful to work on the sabbath. Jesus answers their question with a question, drawing on an example from David and his companions. Jesus goes on with a divine interpretation of the sabbath, one that reveals it not in rigid, legalistic framing but as a gift from God meant for the people. He says to them, “The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath. That is why the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath.”

God, let me see the gift you give me today in choosing to serve you in complete freedom. When I hear Jesus say, “Have you never read. . . ,” I hear a kind of exasperation with the constant questioning and strictness of the Pharisees. You don’t impose yourself, and obedience to your will is not oppressive. You see me in my needs and give me the freedom to choose to do what is good and pleasing to you. Just as David shared the bread of offering with his companions to satiate their hunger, help me see the hunger others have for your mercy and give to others what you first gave to me. Saint Agnes, 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.

Monday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time

From the responsorial psalm: “How I love your law, O LORD! It is my meditation all the day. Lord, I love your commands.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (LK 4:16-30)

They also asked, “Is this not the son of Joseph?” He said to them, “Surely you will quote me this proverb, ‘Physician, cure yourself,’ and say, ‘Do here in your native place the things that we heard were done in Capernaum.’” And he said, “Amen, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own native place.”

As Jesus returns to his hometown of Nazareth, the people who watched him grow up under the care of Mary and Joseph hear him read the passage from Isaiah: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord. After Jesus tells them that this passage is fulfilled in their hearing, they question in amazement where he gets, as they say, “the gracious words that came from his mouth.” Then, citing examples from the Old Testament, he tells his fellow townspeople that the message of salvation is for all, not just the Israelites. The people become furious and drive him out of the town and attempt to throw him off a cliff. Taking place at the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry, this foreshadows the rejection he would face in proclaiming the Gospel as God’s own Son.

God, help me hear the Gospel acclamation and reflect on it in two ways: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,” it reads, and “he has sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor.” These are the words Jesus chose to read to his own people. The Spirit of the Lord is the Holy Spirit, the love between you and your Son. Saint Paul says something similar in his letter to the Corinthians: “with a demonstration of spirit and power, so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom but on the power of God.” It is also the same Spirit upon your Son, the same Spirit of power that Paul demonstrated, you also give to me through baptism and the sacraments. When I stand before others today—even ones who know me well in my ordinariness—help me through your supernatural grace step aside to allow myself to be a means of your mercy and joy. Glory to you, Lord!

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.

“Hear me, all of you, and understand.” | Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time

From the responsorial psalm: “Whoever walks blamelessly and does justice; who thinks the truth in his heart and slanders not with his tongue. The one who does justice will live in the presence of the Lord.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark (Mk 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23)

Jesus responded, “Well did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites, as it is written: This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines human precepts. You disregard God’s commandment but cling to human tradition.”

Clinging to human tradition, we disregard God’s commandment. Mark shows us how Jesus responds to the Pharisees and scribes, who criticize the disciples for not washing their hands before a meal. “Unclean,” is their contention. Mark goes on to tell us how all Jews carefully wash their hands to keep with tradition, along with many other traditional practices of keeping clean. Addressing defilement, Jesus emphasizes the importance of inner purity over external rituals. “Hear me, all of you, and understand,” Jesus says to the crowd. “Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person; but the things that come out from within are what defile.” Saint James puts it this way: “to care for orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained by the world” is the way to remain pure and undefiled before God.

God, help me discern where empty ritual is and dispense with it. External, observable practices can become a trap under the guise of reverence for tradition rather than participation in the Body of Christ. In the real presence of the Eucharist—the body and blood of your Son—teach me to remain in your love. “This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me,” Jesus says. “In vain do they worship me.” The sins and evil intentions that Jesus names arise out of the heart. Lead me to purity of heart, Lord, and keep me in your truth, the Word made flesh in Jesus Christ your Son.

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.

Memorial of the Passion of Saint John the Baptist

From the responsorial psalm: “Every day will I bless you, and I will praise your name forever and ever. Great is the LORD and highly to be praised; his greatness is unsearchable. I will praise your name for ever, Lord.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark (Mk 6:17-29)

Herod was the one who had John the Baptist arrested and bound in prison on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, whom he had married. John had said to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” Herodias harbored a grudge against him and wanted to kill him but was unable to do so. Herod feared John, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man, and kept him in custody. When he heard him speak he was very much perplexed, yet he liked to listen to him.

Reluctant to execute John, Herodias looked for an opportunity to have him killed. During a banquet celebrating Herod’s birthday, Herodias’s daughter, also known as Salome, danced for Herod and the guests. At this, Herod promised to grant her any wish, even up to half of his kingdom, and she got what Herodias prompted her to ask for—the head of John the Baptist on a platter. John spoke out boldly against King Herod’s immorality and was brutally executed, also foreshadowing Jesus’ rejection, passion, and death for the sake of bearing witness to the truth. For the sake of proclaiming truth through the Gospel, how far does the Lord call us to go?

God, help me be recognize the true cost of discipleship in picking up my cross and confronting the Evil One as I face the spiritual battles the world presents. Guide me in my choices, not to serve immoral ends but to remain in your grace and to trust the judgment of others to your justice and mercy. Although he knew John was a holy and righteous man, Herod chose to please his wife and guests and have him killed. Help me see, Lord, your gifts of truth and goodness shining through the darkness and penetrating the gray areas where human judgment is prone to fail. “God is faithful,” Saint Paul says, “and by him you were called to fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” Saint John the Baptist, 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.

Memorial of Saint Augustine, Bishop and Doctor of the Church

From the responsorial psalm: “Blessed are you who fear the LORD, who walk in his ways! For you shall eat the fruit of your handiwork; blessed shall you be, and favored. Blessed are those who fear the Lord.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 23:27-32)

Jesus said, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You are like whitewashed tombs, which appear beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and every kind of filth. Even so, on the outside you appear righteous, but inside you are filled with hypocrisy and evildoing.”

Jesus continues to denounce the scribes and the Pharisees with a series of woes, expressing grief over self-obsessed religious leaders who are guilty of hypocrisy and murderous intentions. Like the scribes and Pharisees, God made all of us in his image, pure and beautiful. Yet, sin corrupts and death destroys that image, producing “dead men’s bones and every kind of filth.” Jesus calls the scribes and Pharisees—and all who hear him—away from false displays of virtue and toward conversion, back to the beauty and goodness by which God first formed us in the image of love. As Saint Augustine said, “Inasmuch as love grows in you, so in you beauty grows. For love is the beauty of the soul.”

God, the harsh words that Jesus directed to the scribes and Pharisees are not isolated in time and space but are for all people across the ages. Guide me away from false piety and show me Jesus your Son, present in the scriptures, in the real presence of the sacraments, and in the Body of Christ, the Church. That is where genuine relationship is, in the truth of the person of Christ. For the sake of your glory, Lord, open my eyes to my own shortcomings and make clear to me today how to turn to you more and more. Saint Augustine, 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.