Wednesday of the Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time
Intention: For parents sending children back to school this week, especially those doing it alone or on a tight budget, that they have what they need and are not made to feel judged for what they do not.
Today’s Gospel | 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!”
From the Thirteenth Meditation for the Time of Retreat | Saint John Baptist de La Salle
If you want to prevent the account which you must give from becoming heavier with the passage of time, make it everyday to yourself. Examine before God how you are conducting yourself in your work and whether you are failing in any of your duties. Come to see yourself clearly. Find fault with yourself accurately, unsparingly, so that when Jesus Christ comes to judge you, you will be able to face his judgment without being afraid.
Prayer
Eternal Father, your Son compared a good appearance to a tomb that has been painted. It is a hard image and it was meant to be. Keep us from honoring people we would not have listened to had we been their contemporaries. Let our reputation and our conduct be the same thing. We ask this of you who lives and reigns with your Son and the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever. Amen.