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Galatians 5:1-6
Brothers and sisters:
For freedom Christ set us free;
so stand firm and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery.
It is I, Paul, who am telling you
that if you have yourselves circumcised,
Christ will be of no benefit to you.
Once again I declare to every man who has himself circumcised
that he is bound to observe the entire law.
You are separated from Christ,
you who are trying to be justified by law;
you have fallen from grace.
For through the Spirit, by faith, we await the hope of righteousness.
For in Christ Jesus,
neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything,
but only faith working through love.
Ps 119:41, 43, 44, 45, 47, 48
R./ Let your mercy come to me, O Lord.
Let your mercy come to me, O Lord,
your salvation according to your promise.
R./ Let your mercy come to me, O Lord.
Take not the word of truth from my mouth,
for in your ordinances is my hope.
R./ Let your mercy come to me, O Lord.
And I will keep your law continually,
forever and ever.
R./ Let your mercy come to me, O Lord.
And I will walk at liberty,
because I seek your precepts.
R./ Let your mercy come to me, O Lord.
And I will delight in your commands,
which I love.
R./ Let your mercy come to me, O Lord.
And I will lift up my hands to your commands
and meditate on your statutes.
R./ Let your mercy come to me, O Lord.
Lk 11:37-41
As Jesus was speaking, a Pharisee asked him to have a meal with him. So he went and sat at table. The Pharisee then wondered why Jesus did not first wash his hands before dinner. But the Lord said to him, "So then, you Pharisees, you clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside yourselves you are full of greed and evil. Fools! He who made the outside, also made the inside. But according to you, by the mere giving of alms everything is made clean."
A legend tells of an old man who spent hours in front of the tabernacle. One day the parish priest, curious, asked him what he was doing, saying or thinking all that time. The old man simply replied, «He looks at me and I look at him. There is nothing more loving than sitting in silence and just looking at him. This legend comes to mind when we look at today’s readings. In the first reading it is said that we do not know how to pray and that the Spirit prays in us. And in the Gospel a key word is given: abide.
To abide is something almost unimaginable in today’s world. Things are disposable and relationships are too often temporary and very fragile. To abide, something that seems so simple, is in reality hard and demanding. To abide when nothing is felt, when things are difficult, when there is darkness.
Today we celebrate the feast of Saint Teresa of Jesus. Spain celebrates Saint Teresa with such devotion that we commonly refer to her as the Saint. It is often said that the writings of St. Teresa are difficult to understand because of the language of her time and their mystical density. But today we are offered a simple word of St. Teresa, which is connected to the two readings of the day: abide in me that you may have life. And what should we do? Let the Spirit pray in us «with inexpressible groans». We don’t even have to understand… Teresa gives us, in splendid simplicity, a recipe and a solution for both: «I only ask you to look at him. It is certainly not complex, but neither is it too simple. Quieting the senses to just look sounds a bit boring. We want activity, feelings, inner and outer bustle. It takes some courage to look and be looked at, because the light reveals the whole truth. It takes some humility not to pretend not to do anything and not to be dominated by silence. But it is not necessary to think, nor to move, nor to speak… And that is the best dialog of love. And therein lies the glory of the Father. Perseverance bears fruit because it is constantly nourished by the juice of the vine.
Carmen AguinacoLord, our God,
Jesus touched the dead and unclean lepers
to raise them to life and to heal them.
Let us not be afraid
of dirtying our hands to help people
but of soiling our tongues to tell lies
and to besmear the good name
of our brothers and sisters,
to quarrel with them and to hurt them.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
First Reading Introduction
Paul insists that our freedom comes from our faith in Christ and we should never again give away that freedom. The only thing that matters is faith working through love.
Gospel Introduction
In today's gospel Jesus reacts against pious Jews who stress the observance of the externals - laws, rules, customs - without inspiration and motivation from inside. Most probably the Pharisees were sincere in practicing these outward regulations, but they easily gave the ones practicing them the conviction of saving themselves through them. In fact, in today's world too externals count heavily. People buy things for their wrappings. Appearances are often all that matters... It is not the shining cup that matters but the contents. Indeed, the contents must be first-rate.
- That the People of God, its leaders and members, may never put the law above people but always practice the great commandment of loving God in one another, we pray:
- That priests and religious make the poverty and love of Christ visible in them, so that their teaching may be credible, we pray:
- That our communities may be strong and faithful witnesses in our world for the truth, honesty and authenticity, we pray:
Lord our God,
you look into our hearts
and you invite us to come to the table of Jesus
and to worship you with him
in spirit and in truth.
Let there be no pretence in us,
no mere outward display,
no attempt to impress people
as to how good and religious we are.
Make us honest with you and ourselves
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
this eucharist has been for us
an occasion of reflection
on the way we live our faith.
Let the word of Jesus echo in us
that we do not save ourselves
by our own practices,
but that we owe everything to you.
Accept our thanks and love
that all we are and have
we have received from you
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
What is inside us? God knows, and I hope each of us knows too. May the Lord love what he sees, and may almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
