DAILY- HOMILY

October 16, 2019 – WEDNESDAY, 28th Week in Ordinary Time
St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, Virgin and Religious
St. Hedwig, Religious
Green.

Rom 2: 1 – 11 / Lk 11: 42 – 46

St. Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647 – 1690), a French nun of the Visitation Convent at Paray-le-Monial had mystical revelations on devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

From Bavaria, St. Hedwig (1174 – 1243) was Duchess of Silesia and the wife of the Duke of Portugal and mother of seven children.

FROM THE 1ST READING: Rom 2: 6 – 9
He will give each one his due, according to his actions. He will give everlasting life to those who seek glory, honor and immortality and persevere in doing good. But anger and vengeance will be the lot of those who do not serve truth but injustice. There will be suffering and anguish for everyone committing evil, first the Jew, then the Greek.

GOSPEL READING: Lk 11: 42 – 46
Jesus said, "A curse is on you, Pharisees; for the Temple you give a tenth of all, including mint and rue and the other herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God.. This ought to be practiced, without neglecting the other.      A curse is on you, Pharisees, for you love the best seats in the synagogues and to be greeted in the marketplace. A curse is on you for you are like tombstones of the dead which can hardly be seen; people do not notice  them and make themselves unclean by stepping on them.

Then a teacher of the Law spoke up and said, "Master, when you speak like this, you insult us, too." And Jesus answered, "A curse is on you also, teachers of the Law. For you prepare unbearable burdens and load them on people, while you yourselves do not move a finger to help them.'"

REFLECTION
In the first reading Paul reminds us of God's justice: the good will be rewarded and evil ones punished: "He will give each one his due, according to his actions." Each one of us, given freedom by God, is responsible for one's actions.

In the Gospel reading Jesus condemns the Pharisees and the teachers and leaders of Israel for their self-righteousness and hypocrisy: they focus on externals and minutiae of observance of the Law and forget the Spirit and real purpose of the Law. They stress observance of the Law and forget about the people to be served and protected and helped by the Law.

How much of what Jesus condemned among the Pharisees is there in each one of us? How much hypocrisy is there in us? How easily do we judge others? How much do we ourselves focus on externals? How often have we forgotten the spirit behind the Law and that the real purpose of Law is to help and protect real people? And for those with positions of leadership, has our leadership been truly one of service to others?

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!

**************************************************
These reflections are distributed free and are for personal use only. Feel free to send the Daily Prayer reflections to your friends, colleagues and relatives; however, if you do, please include the following:
  +================================================+
   |  The Daily Prayer, a service and an apostolate of the
   |  priests, laity and friends of Mary the Queen Parish
   |  distributed free and for personal use only.  
  +================================================+