Friday, August 25, 2006
Saturday 20th Week in Ordinary Time
August 26, 2006
Saturday 20th Week in Ordinary Time - Yr II
EZEKIEL 43:1-7
Then the man brought me to the gate facing east, and I saw the glory of
the God of Israel coming from the east. His voice was like the roar of
rushing waters, and the land was radiant with his glory. The vision I
saw was like the vision I had seen when he came to destroy the city and
like the visions I had seen by the Kebar River, and I fell facedown.
The glory of the LORD entered the temple through the gate facing east.
Then the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court, and
the glory of the LORD filled the temple. While the man was standing
beside me, I heard someone speaking to me from inside the temple. He
said: "Son of man, this is the place of my throne and the place for the
soles of my feet. This is where I will live among the Israelites
forever. The house of Israel will never again defile my holy
name--neither they nor their kings--by their prostitution and the
lifeless idols of their kings at their high places.
MATTHEW 23:1-12
Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: "The teachers of
the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. So you must obey them and
do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do
not practice what they preach. They tie up heavy loads and put them on
men's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger
to move them. "Everything they do is done for men to see: They make
their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long; they
love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the
synagogues; they love to be greeted in the marketplaces and to have men
call them `Rabbi.' "But you are not to be called `Rabbi,' for you have
only one Master and you are all brothers. And do not call anyone on
earth `father,' for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. Nor are
you to be called `teacher,' for you have one Teacher, the Christ. The
greatest among you will be your servant. For whoever exalts himself
will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
REFLECTION
Jesus treated ordinary sinners and the Pharisees quite differently. His
arms were always wide open to receive sinners whose sins were sins of
weakness. The experience of the woman caught committing adultery
provides a very beautiful example of Jesus' compassion for weak
sinners. The Pharisees wanted Jesus to condemn the adulteress, but
instead he shamed the Pharisees and offered forgiveness and hope to the
woman.
In today's Gospel, Jesus roundly condemns the Pharisees because they
want everything for themselves - honor and respect, impressive
clothing, fine titles. But they place terribly heavy burdens on the
shoulders of the ordinary people and not even lift a finger to help
them bear the weight.
It's not our sins of weakness that will draw Jesus' condemnation down
on us. Excessive consumption of alcohol, involvement with drugs, sins
of impurity - these are sins of weakness, which good men and women
commit although they strive with great effort to live good Christian
lives. They sin in spite of their goodness because they are weak.
In our world today, many people are hungry. For some of us, we try to
do our best to help them, donating to charities or perhaps even
performing volunteer work to do what we can to ease their burdens. Even
if we were not guilty of putting burdens on others, Christ, in his
parable on the last judgment, does not ask those to be judged whether
they have imposed burdens on "the least of his brothers." Rather, he
asks whether they have done anything to make burdens they imposed
lighter.
PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray ...
- for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the unborn.
- for the volunteers of the Guimaras oil spill. May they persist in
their hard work and realize that their hard work and dedication
brings glory to Our Lord and to Mother Nature. May they find comfort
in knowing that God is watching them.
- for the personal intentions of Tommy Abellar.
- for the eternal repose of the soul of Maria de la Rosa Te.
Eternal rest grant unto her and may perpetual light shine upon her.
May she and all the souls of the dearly departed rest in peace.
- for the speedy recovery and healing of R.
- for the eternal repose of the soul of Zenon M. Cagulada. Eternal
rest grant unto him and may perpetual light shine upon him. May he
and all the souls of the dearly departed rest in peace.
- for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
- Birthday: Gregory Thomas Chua
- for world peace and reconciliation.
Finally, we pray for one another, for those who have asked our
prayers and for those who need our prayers the most.
Have a good day!
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