Monday, August 25, 2014 Monday the 21st Week in Ordinary Time Saint (s) of the Day: St. Louis IX, king of France (1215-1270), St. Joseph Calasanz, priest and background. (1557-1648) See comment below, or click here Francois Pope: Christ calls everyone to holiness Second Letter of St. Paul to the Thessalonians 1,1-5.11b-12. We, Paul, Silvanus and Timothy, we turn to you, the Church of Thessalonica in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Brothers at all times we must thank God for you, and it is only right, given the great progress of your faith, and the growth of love that each of you has for all other . That is why you are our pride in the middle of the Churches of God for your perseverance and faith in all your persecutions and afflictions which you are enduring. They are a sign of the righteous judgment of God; so you become worthy of his Kingdom, for which you are suffering. May our God finds you worthy of his calling addressed to you; by his power, it gives you to do all the good you desire, and it makes your active faith. Thus our Lord Jesus will glory in you and you in him; Here we reserve the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. Psalm 96 (95), 1-2a.2b-3.4-5a. Sing to the Lord a new song Sing to the Lord, all the earth, Sing to the Lord, bless his name! Day by day, proclaim his salvation, tell all peoples his glory to all nations, his wonders Great is the Lord and highly praised dreaded above all gods: nothing, all the gods of the nations! Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Matthew 23.13-22. Jesus said, Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you lock the kingdom of heaven against men: for yourselves do not enter, and those trying to get in, you let them not to enter! Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you compass sea and land to make a single convert, and when you have succeeded, you make a man doomed to hell, twice as bad as you! Woe to you, blind guides, which say, If we make an oath by the temple, it is zero; but if you make an oath by the gold of the temple, we must carry it out. Fools and blind! What is more important: the gold? or the Temple in which the gold is sacred? Yet you say, If we make an oath by the altar, it is zero; but if you make an oath by the offering on the altar, we must carry it out. Blind! What is more important: the gift? or the altar which this offering is sacred? Whoever makes an oath by the altar is therefore an oath by the altar and by everything that is placed on it; and he who made an oath by the Temple made an oath by the temple and by Him who dwells and he who made an oath by heaven is an oath by the throne of God and by him who sits upon the throne. Extract of the Liturgical Translation of the Bible - © AELF, Paris Comment of the day: Pope Francis General Audience of 02/10/2013 (trad. © copyright Libreria Editrice Vaticana) Christ calls all men to holiness In the Creed, after professing, I believe in the Church ... we add the adjective holy; that is to say, we affirm the sanctity of the Church. This is a feature that is present from the beginning in the consciousness of the early Christians, who simply called the saints (Acts 9,13.32.41, Rm 8.27, 1 Cor 6,1) because that they were certain that it is the action of God the Holy Spirit who sanctifies the Church. But in what sense is it the Church holy, when we see that the historical Church, in its way throughout the centuries, has had so many difficulties, problems, dark times? How a Church made up of human beings, sinners, can it be holy? A church made of sinful men, women sinful, sinful priests, religious sinners, sinners of bishops, cardinals sinners, sinful pope? Everyone. How can such a church can it be holy? To answer this question, I would be guided by a passage from the Letter of St. Paul to the Christians of Ephesus. The apostle, taking as an example family relationships, says that Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy (5,25s). Christ also loved the church, giving himself entirely on the cross. This means that the Church is holy because it comes from God who is holy. He is faithful; he does not abandon the power of death and evil (Mt 16:18). It is holy because Jesus Christ, the Son of God (Mark 1:24), is united with it indissolubly (Mt 28:20). It is holy because it is guided by the Holy Spirit that cleanses, transforms and renews. It is not holy because of our merits, but because God makes holy. It is the fruit of the Holy Spirit and his gifts. It is not us who are making the holy is God, the Holy Spirit, who in his love makes the Holy Church.
Posted on: Mon, 25 Aug 2014 11:18:01 +0000
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