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First Reading: 1 Thessalonians 2:1-8
You yourselves know, brothers and sisters,
that our reception among you was not without effect.
Rather, after we had suffered and been insolently treated,
as you know, in Philippi,
we drew courage through our God
to speak to you the Gospel of God with much struggle.
Our exhortation was not from delusion or impure motives,
nor did it work through deception.
But as we were judged worthy by God to be entrusted with the Gospel,
that is how we speak,
not as trying to please men,
but rather God, who judges our hearts.
Nor, indeed, did we ever appear with flattering speech, as you know,
or with a pretext for greed–God is witness–
nor did we seek praise from men,
either from you or from others,
although we were able to impose our weight as Apostles of Christ.
Rather, we were gentle among you,
as a nursing mother cares for her children.
With such affection for you, we were determined to share with you
not only the Gospel of God, but our very selves as well,
so dearly beloved had you become to us.
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 139:1-3, 4-6
R./ You have searched me and you know me, Lord.
O Lord, you have probed me and you know me;
you know when I sit and when I stand;
you understand my thoughts from afar.
My journeys and my rest you scrutinize,
with all my ways you are familiar.
R./ You have searched me and you know me, Lord.
Even before a word is on my tongue,
behold, O Lord, you know the whole of it.
Behind me and before, you hem me in
and rest your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
too lofty for me to attain.
R./ You have searched me and you know me, Lord.
Introduction to Gospel Reading
There is always the danger that religions turn into a kind of ritualism that imposes practices of little meaning as if they were the saving factors. Ritualism and rubricism is still raising its ugly head even after Vatican II. How ridiculous, almost superstitious! Equally ridiculous because it is empty, is a religion that professes to have faith but minimizes or shuns religious practices. Be sure that with this attitude quite rampant in our time, true faith disappears.
Gospel Reading: Matthew 23:23-26
Jesus said:
"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites.
You pay tithes of mint and dill and cummin,
and have neglected the weightier things of the law:
judgment and mercy and fidelity.
But these you should have done, without neglecting the others.
Blind guides, who strain out the gnat and swallow the camel!
"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites.
You cleanse the outside of cup and dish,
but inside they are full of plunder and self-indulgence.
Blind Pharisee, cleanse first the inside of the cup,
so that the outside also may be clean."
Saint MONICA, Memorial
August 27
A convinced Christian, Monica was married to a short-tempered, philandering husband. She succeeded in converting both him and her mother in law. Her son, Augustine, belonged to the Manichean sect and his moral conduct caused her much anxiety and shame. Yet Monica could finally win him to the faith by her prayers and penance – and what a man and Christian Augustine became! His mother's tears had brought him to life in Christ (hence the gospel). Thus she was twice his mother. Her life was that of a lot of women – trials in marriage, worries about difficult children. But she knew that faith in Christ makes everything possible.
Opening Prayer
Almighty, eternal God,
to give a human life to their children
is the great task you entrust to mothers.
We thank you today for St. Monica,
who prayed to you for her Son Augustine
that he might find Jesus.
Grant to all parents
that they may help their children live and grow
in the life and the future
of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Prayer over the Gifts
Lord God,
let this bread and wine be the signs
that with your Son Jesus Christ
we care about your kingdom among people.
Help us through your Son
to lead one another forward
on the way to you.
May he live in all of us,
for he is our Lord for ever.
Prayer after Communion
Lord our God,
we thank you for Jesus Christ
and for the many men and women
to whom he meant enough
to dedicate themselves to their neighbor
for his sake.
Let them inspire us today
to care for those around us.
Help us to believe firmly enough
in the mystery of your Son's resurrection
to rise above our petty selves
and to help others overcome
their fears and their servitudes
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
