MASS READINGS:

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew 10:24-33

Jesus said to his Apostles: "No disciple is above his teacher, no slave above his master. It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher, for the slave that he become like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more those of his household! "Therefore do not be afraid of them. Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known. What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light; what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna. Are not two sparrows sold for a small coin? Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father's knowledge. Even all the hairs of your head are counted. So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. Everyone who acknowledges me before others I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father. But whoever denies me before others, I will deny before my heavenly Father."

REFLECTION:

“What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light; what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna.”

Historically, Gehenna was a small gully located southwest of Jerusalem where the Ammonite deity was offered sacrifice of live children by fire. In time this narrow deep glen was considered cursed and used to burn refuge, such as dead animals and criminals. In order to reduce the superstition associated with this place, Jeremiah renamed it the Valley of Slaughter. In the New Testament Jesus referred to Gehenna as an eternal place of suffering and fire, better known as Hell. If Jesus proclaims it, it must be real.

Sadly, today many do not believe in hell, where destroyed bodies and souls dwell for eternity. Most have created the god of “Me”. Whatever a person is comfortable with is right. They proclaim, “your truth is ok with me and I have my own truth”. This makes no sense, since there can only be one truth that applies to all and any deviation could not be true. God’s truth is the only one that stands forever and never changes. It is written in the bible.

Jesus speaks of how much our Father intimately knows us and how valued we are in His sight. All He asks for is to have faith and proclaim the truth. There are no secrets with God as he knows everything. If we read his holy Word and look within ourselves, we would see this everlasting truth and be ready to proclaim it on the housetops.

Let us pray for priests to have no fear in proclaiming the truth, keeping their eyes on Jesus.