Menu
Today, 27th of September, we celebrate
Saint Vincent of Paul
2 Thes 3:6-10, 16-18
We instruct you, brothers and sisters,
in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
to shun any brother
who walks in a disorderly way
and not according to the tradition they received from us.
For you know how one must imitate us.
For we did not act in a disorderly way among you,
nor did we eat food received free from anyone.
On the contrary, in toil and drudgery, night and day we worked,
so as not to burden any of you.
Not that we do not have the right.
Rather, we wanted to present ourselves as a model for you,
so that you might imitate us.
In fact, when we were with you, we instructed you that
if anyone was unwilling to work, neither should that one eat.
May the Lord of peace himself
give you peace at all times and in every way.
The Lord be with all of you.
This greeting is in my own hand, Paul's.
This is the sign in every letter; this is how I write.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with all of you.
Ps 71:1–2, 3–4a, 5–6ab, 15ab and 17
R./ I will sing your salvation.
In you, O LORD, I take refuge;
let me never be put to shame.
In your justice rescue me, and deliver me;
incline your ear to me, and save me.
R./ I will sing your salvation.
Be my rock of refuge,
a stronghold to give me safety,
for you are my rock and my fortress.
O my God, rescue me from the hand of the wicked.
R./ I will sing your salvation.
For you are my hope, O LORD;
my trust, O God, from my youth.
On you I depend from birth;
from my mother’s womb you are my strength.
R./ I will sing your salvation.
My mouth shall declare your justice,
day by day your salvation.
O God, you have taught me from my youth,
and till the present I proclaim your wondrous deeds.
R./ I will sing your salvation.
Matthew 23:27-32
Jesus said,
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites.
You are like whitewashed tombs, which appear beautiful on the outside,
but inside are full of dead men’s bones and every kind of filth.
Even so, on the outside you appear righteous,
but inside you are filled with hypocrisy and evildoing.
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites.
You build the tombs of the prophets
and adorn the memorials of the righteous,
and you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors,
we would not have joined them in shedding the prophets’ blood.’
Thus you bear witness against yourselves
that you are the children of those who murdered the prophets;
now fill up what your ancestors measured out!”
There’s something we need to keep in mind when we read the Gospel, and that is that we all have certain lenses, certain filters, through which we read those texts. It’s not easy to get rid of those filters. They are our culture, our language, our way of understanding the world, life, family, etc. We read the texts of the Gospels from that perspective. And that makes us understand some things one way and others another way. It’s not always easy to know exactly what Jesus meant. Among other things, because those who wrote the Gospels also had their filters, their culture, their way of understanding the world. And that surely influenced them when writing down their memories of Jesus.
But there are texts that are different. One of them is today’s. The Jewish society of Jesus’ time, like almost all or all societies that have existed throughout history, was a very hierarchical society. There were those at the top and those at the bottom, those who knew and the ignorant, the rich and the poor, the powerful and those who didn’t matter. In reality, nothing different from today. That’s why we end up seeing those differences in status as something normal and natural.
Precisely because of that, today’s Gospel is even more striking. Because Jesus proposes a radically egalitarian community. There is only one superior, one father, one teacher, one counselor. It is God, the Father of all. From there down, everyone is/we are equal. There are no categories. There is no top or bottom, no middle management. The text ends with an even more surprising phrase: if anyone wants to be first, they have to become the servant of all. It couldn’t be clearer.
I have the impression that we find it difficult to understand/accept this radicalism of Jesus. It’s so hard for us to understand and accept it that throughout the centuries we have ended up affirming and believing that the church, the community of Jesus’ disciples, is an essentially hierarchical society. But the word of Jesus is still there and should be the inspiring center of our lives, as people, as believers, and as a church.
Introduction
Our guide should be the solid traditions of our faith, not private revelations.
We probably agree with Jesus’ strong condemnation of the hypocrisy of the Pharisees. But hypocrisy is still with us today. The whitewashing of tombs goes on, and from an individual corruption it has pervaded society itself. The wrongs of the state, and the Church too, are covered up. Injustices and exploitation are passed over in silence or are condemned in such general terms that even oppressors agree. We close our eyes and our consciences are undisturbed because we think we have no share in the evil that goes on. Our deeds do not match our words.
Opening Prayer
Just and merciful God,
you know what is in us.
Forgive us that often we are so busy,
that we have no time to stop and look back
to those who are too tired to follow.
Forgive us that we condemn
without having tried to understand.
Let justice and mercy and service
not be the business of others
but our concern and our life
on account of him who told us
to look for him in others,
Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Intercessions
– For all those who bear witness to the truth, that the Spirit may put the right words in their mouths, we pray:
– For all of us, that we may do our works and tasks in life conscientiously and with zeal, we pray:
– For us all, who celebrate the Eucharist, that the Lord Jesus may make us authentic and trustworthy persons, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
Lord our God,
because he could not be swayed
from his purpose to make people truly free in you,
your Son paid with his life,
but you raised him to lasting life.
As we join him in his sacrifice,
make us straightforward and committed with him
whatever the cost to ourselves,
in honesty and truth,
that we may stand the test of your scrutiny
and live in your light, now and for ever.
Prayer after Communion
Lord our God,
the words of your Son we have heard,
were hard and addressed not only to others
but also to us, to be put into practice.
By the strength of this Eucharist,
help us to live as we believe
and to be honest with ourselves and with others.
Make us not only speak of peace and love
but be men and women of peace
and of community in Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Blessing
Let us never give in to the temptation of trying to appear better to people than we are, perhaps somehow trying to impress God! Let us humbly ask for his blessing. May Almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
