Today, 17th of February, we celebrate
The Seven Holy Founders of the Servite Order
First Reading: Isaiah 1:10, 16-20
Learn to do good; make justice your aim.
Hear the word of the Lord,
princes of Sodom!
Listen to the instruction of our God,
people of Gomorrah!
Wash yourselves clean!
Put away your misdeeds from before my eyes;
cease doing evil; learn to do good.
Make justice your aim: redress the wronged,
hear the orphan’s plea, defend the widow.
Come now, let us set things right,
says the Lord:
Though your sins be like scarlet,
they may become white as snow;
Though they be crimson red,
they may become white as wool.
If you are willing, and obey,
you shall eat the good things of the land;
But if you refuse and resist,
the sword shall consume you:
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken!
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 50:8-9, 16bc-17, 21 and 23
R./ To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
“Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you,
for your burnt offerings are before me always.
I take from your house no bullock,
no goats out of your fold.”
R./ Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.
“Why do you recite my statutes,
and profess my covenant with your mouth,
Though you hate discipline
and cast my words behind you?”
R./ Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.
“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.
He that offers praise as a sacrifice glorifies me;
and to him that goes the right way I will show the salvation of God.”
R./ Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.
Gospel Reading: Matthew 23:1-12
Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples, saying,
“The scribes and the Pharisees
have taken their seat on the chair of Moses.
Therefore, do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you,
but do not follow their example.
For they preach but they do not practice.
They tie up heavy burdens hard to carry
and lay them on people’s shoulders,
but they will not lift a finger to move them.
All their works are performed to be seen.
They widen their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels.
They love places of honor at banquets, seats of honor in synagogues,
greetings in marketplaces, and the salutation ‘Rabbi.’
As for you, do not be called ‘Rabbi.’
You have but one teacher, and you are all brothers.
Call no one on earth your father;
you have but one Father in heaven.
Do not be called ‘Master’;
you have but one master, the Christ.
The greatest among you must be your servant.
Whoever exalts himself will be humbled;
but whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”
The temptation of duplicity
Today’s Gospel passage is set in Jesus’s final days in Jerusalem, filled with expectations andtension. On the one hand, Jesus directs harsh criticism at the scribes and Pharisees, and on the other, he entrusts crucial mandates to Christians of all times and, thus, to us.
When our faith is reduced to empty words, unconcerned with the lives and needs of others,the creed we profess proves inconsistent with the life we lead. The Pharisees and scribes lived in duplicity, trying to hide their inconsistency to protect their reputations.
And so, they performed acts of piety to impress the crowd to appear righteous and to «saveface», as we say. This trick is widespread – they put makeup on their faces, makeup on their life, makeup on their hearts… And these “made-up” people do not know how to live the truth. And many times, even we experience the temptation of duplicity.
Commenting on the gospel passage, Pope Francis says, “A common mistake of those in civil or ecclesiastical authority is demanding people to do things — even righteous things — that they fail to practise in the first person. They live a double life. If it is wrongly exercised, authority becomes oppressive, creates a climate of distrust and hostility, and leads to corruption.
Let us turn to the Holy Virgin. May she who lived with integrity and humility of heart according to the will of God help us become credible witnesses of the Gospel.
Bible Claret