A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke 11:42-46
The Lord said: “Woe to you Pharisees! You pay tithes of mint and of rue and of every garden herb, but you pay no attention to judgment and to love for God. These you should have done, without overlooking the others. Woe to you Pharisees! You love the seat of honor in synagogues and greetings in marketplaces. Woe to you! You are like unseen graves over which people unknowingly walk.” Then one of the scholars of the law said to him in reply, “Teacher, by saying this you are insulting us too.” And he said, “Woe also to you scholars of the law! You impose on people burdens hard to carry, but you yourselves do not lift one finger to touch them.”
REFLECTION: “Woe to you Pharisees! You pay tithes of mint and of rue and of every garden herb, but you pay no attention to judgment and to love for God.
Over this past year we have gotten to know St Gerard Majella, Patron of the Unborn and Expectant Mothers and benefactor of the poor, St Francis of Assisi, Patron Saint of the Poor and Blessed Carlo Acutis, soon to be Patron Saint of the Internet and very generous to the poor and homeless. And of course, we are always reminded of Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta who said, "If I can take one person from the gutter, and he dies being loved, then I am fulfilling God's will". Saints are our role models. They are whom we should want to be.
They preached the Gospel by living it day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute.
In the course of our lives, we may have gone after many things: fame, power, money and pleasure. We may have found ourselves doing things to be seen, enjoying the plaudits, seeking the limelight and checking out how many "likes" we got on what we wrote, or posted.
I can hear Jesus say to us, "No, no, Woe to you, (Your Name)". We are confronted by Jesus to evaluate our dependence on the externals. Are we ignoring our hearts? Are we ignoring charity, the underdog, the poor and the overburdened by life?
An old rhyme, " Mr. Catholic went to Mass; he never missed a Sunday. Mr. Catholic went to hell for what he did on Monday." May our Christian behavior be like the above saints--pay attention to people's needs and love like God. One day He may call us to "come higher".
Visit us for many opportunities to serve. PAPA Joe helps feed the poor and the undernourished in Venezuela. PAPA for Life prays for the Unborn and the ending of abortion. PAPA prays for all priests. PAPA Relief will soon be helping the poor with our "loose change".
God Bless You
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