First Reading: Malachi 1: 14 and 2: 1 - 2, 8 - 10
14 Cursed be the cheat who has a male in his flock, and vows it, and yet sacrifices to the Lord what is blemished; for I am a great King, says the LORD of hosts, and my name is feared among the nations.
1 "And now, O priests, this command is for you.
2 If you will not listen, if you will not lay it to heart to give glory to my name, says the LORD of hosts, then I will send the curse upon you and I will curse your blessings; indeed I have already cursed them, because you do not lay it to heart.
8 But you have turned aside from the way; you have caused many to stumble by your instruction; you have corrupted the covenant of Levi, says the LORD of hosts,
9 and so I make you despised and abased before all the people, inasmuch as you have not kept my ways but have shown partiality in your instruction."
10 Have we not all one father? Has not one God created us? Why then are we faithless to one another, profaning the covenant of our fathers?
Psalms 131: 1 - 3
1 O LORD, my heart is not lifted up, my eyes are not raised too high; I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me.
2 But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a child quieted at its mother's breast; like a child that is quieted is my soul.
3 O Israel, hope in the LORD from this time forth and for evermore.
Second Reading: 1 Thessalonians 2: 7 - 9, 13
7 But we were gentle among you, like a nurse taking care of her children.
8 So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us.
9 For you remember our labor and toil, brethren; we worked night and day, that we might not burden any of you, while we preached to you the gospel of God.
13 And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.
Gospel Reading: Matthew 23: 1 - 12
1 Then said Jesus to the crowds and to his disciples,
2 "The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat;
3 so practice and observe whatever they tell you, but not what they do; for they preach, but do not practice.
4 They bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with their finger.
5 They do all their deeds to be seen by men; for they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long,
6 and they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues,
7 and salutations in the market places, and being called rabbi by men.
8 But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brethren.
9 And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven.
10 Neither be called masters, for you have one master, the Christ.
11 He who is greatest among you shall be your servant;
12 whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
Preaching / Homily
If we had to summarize the texts today in a few short sentences, we could say for example: "Do not be hypocrites. Follow your lines so that you say. Be true. "More than a basic moral lesson, Jesus wants to dig deep by the solid foundation of a real personality.
We live too often the surface of ourselves, we merely good words or rock critics talking and not being, hiding our inner emptiness in unnecessary chatter. For the three temptations Pharisaic are primarily ours.
- And say not to do. Who among us can claim a perfect harmony between his ideal and his actual conduct, between his thoughts and actions?
- Wanting to dominate. It's not just the scribes of the first century to show authoritarianism. How often are we absolutely sure not to hold the truth to be right to impose our views, to have to right the wrongs of others ...?
- Get noticed. The research of the first places, vanity clothing are not the only notable defects of ancient Jerusalem. Who among us does not give in to ridiculous vanity, the race for honors or privileges? If no question "of phylacteries and fringes very long," the brand of car, luxury holidays, the "look" well replace them.
Each of us can find his way as well, very subtle, to fall through these Pharisees.But, positively, Jesus invites us to adopt other attitudes.
- Fraternity true: you are all brothers. Instead of draping in our differences and our high-sounding titles, we are invited to look at everyone as our equal, and truly love as a brother.
- Simplicity. Call no man your father on earth, for you have one, the Heavenly Father. God alone is God, he alone is entitled to our homage. Does this mean that you should never call someone "father, teacher or pastor"? This would be a fundamentalist reading of the gospel. But claiming these titles as an honor to live without as a service, that is the fault.
- The service. The greatest among you shall be your servant. The sense of service to Jesus is not at all humiliating. It be great to be that servant. It's become like God, who through the incarnation and the lowering of the Son, became our servant. No one is happier than he who knows how to love his brothers actively.
Yes, really, when we take into our hands delivered the body, the blood of Jesus Christ, there is no longer with us master or lord, but the great joy of loving us regardless of which could be the more. For He who alone is great, by pure grace makes us holy. -Homily By Sr.Francine
14 Cursed be the cheat who has a male in his flock, and vows it, and yet sacrifices to the Lord what is blemished; for I am a great King, says the LORD of hosts, and my name is feared among the nations.
1 "And now, O priests, this command is for you.
2 If you will not listen, if you will not lay it to heart to give glory to my name, says the LORD of hosts, then I will send the curse upon you and I will curse your blessings; indeed I have already cursed them, because you do not lay it to heart.
8 But you have turned aside from the way; you have caused many to stumble by your instruction; you have corrupted the covenant of Levi, says the LORD of hosts,
9 and so I make you despised and abased before all the people, inasmuch as you have not kept my ways but have shown partiality in your instruction."
10 Have we not all one father? Has not one God created us? Why then are we faithless to one another, profaning the covenant of our fathers?
Psalms 131: 1 - 3
1 O LORD, my heart is not lifted up, my eyes are not raised too high; I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me.
2 But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a child quieted at its mother's breast; like a child that is quieted is my soul.
3 O Israel, hope in the LORD from this time forth and for evermore.
Second Reading: 1 Thessalonians 2: 7 - 9, 13
7 But we were gentle among you, like a nurse taking care of her children.
8 So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us.
9 For you remember our labor and toil, brethren; we worked night and day, that we might not burden any of you, while we preached to you the gospel of God.
13 And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.
Gospel Reading: Matthew 23: 1 - 12
1 Then said Jesus to the crowds and to his disciples,
2 "The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat;
3 so practice and observe whatever they tell you, but not what they do; for they preach, but do not practice.
4 They bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with their finger.
5 They do all their deeds to be seen by men; for they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long,
6 and they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues,
7 and salutations in the market places, and being called rabbi by men.
8 But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brethren.
9 And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven.
10 Neither be called masters, for you have one master, the Christ.
11 He who is greatest among you shall be your servant;
12 whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
Preaching / Homily
If we had to summarize the texts today in a few short sentences, we could say for example: "Do not be hypocrites. Follow your lines so that you say. Be true. "More than a basic moral lesson, Jesus wants to dig deep by the solid foundation of a real personality.
We live too often the surface of ourselves, we merely good words or rock critics talking and not being, hiding our inner emptiness in unnecessary chatter. For the three temptations Pharisaic are primarily ours.
- And say not to do. Who among us can claim a perfect harmony between his ideal and his actual conduct, between his thoughts and actions?
- Wanting to dominate. It's not just the scribes of the first century to show authoritarianism. How often are we absolutely sure not to hold the truth to be right to impose our views, to have to right the wrongs of others ...?
- Get noticed. The research of the first places, vanity clothing are not the only notable defects of ancient Jerusalem. Who among us does not give in to ridiculous vanity, the race for honors or privileges? If no question "of phylacteries and fringes very long," the brand of car, luxury holidays, the "look" well replace them.
Each of us can find his way as well, very subtle, to fall through these Pharisees.But, positively, Jesus invites us to adopt other attitudes.
- Fraternity true: you are all brothers. Instead of draping in our differences and our high-sounding titles, we are invited to look at everyone as our equal, and truly love as a brother.
- Simplicity. Call no man your father on earth, for you have one, the Heavenly Father. God alone is God, he alone is entitled to our homage. Does this mean that you should never call someone "father, teacher or pastor"? This would be a fundamentalist reading of the gospel. But claiming these titles as an honor to live without as a service, that is the fault.
- The service. The greatest among you shall be your servant. The sense of service to Jesus is not at all humiliating. It be great to be that servant. It's become like God, who through the incarnation and the lowering of the Son, became our servant. No one is happier than he who knows how to love his brothers actively.
Yes, really, when we take into our hands delivered the body, the blood of Jesus Christ, there is no longer with us master or lord, but the great joy of loving us regardless of which could be the more. For He who alone is great, by pure grace makes us holy. -Homily By Sr.Francine
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