Daily Gospel Reflection

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August 30, 2023

Wednesday of the Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time
Mt 23:27-32
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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!”

Reflection

Sarah (Ennis) Flynn ’16, M.Ed.
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I don’t live in my dream house, and I definitely don’t live in my dream neighborhood. Many homes on our street are surrounded by imposing chain-link fences or a jungle of shrubbery. One neighbor’s garbage often spills out of their cans and floats into our yard—another neighbor’s backyard brims with old pots, bins, and tools. Everywhere I look, it feels messy and chaotic.

I often find myself anxiously cleaning up our yard. I pull weeds and sweep our walk. I am desperate to show the neighborhood what a clean, well-kept property could look like.

I read today’s gospel and shook my finger at my unkempt neighbors, “Woe to you with the overflowing trash and cluttered yard.” And then I paused. No, Jesus is not pointing a finger at my neighbors for their outwardly disorderly homes. He is looking at me.

Jesus sees me with my home that “appears beautiful on the outside” and asks me, “But what does it look like on the inside?” Not the inside of my house; the inside of my heart. Jesus asks just this: that I love him and love my neighbor. Yet I find myself the Pharisee again. I claim I would not have joined them [our ancestors] in shedding the prophets’ blood. But here I am with only criticism for my neighbors’ property appearances—the people whom Jesus has asked me to love.

This gospel message is hard. Jesus does not mince his words. But I believe Jesus’s admonition is an invitation. It is an invitation to look inside. Forget about the outward appearance for a moment and spend a moment with Jesus in your heart. Let him into the messy and chaotic places of your heart. Let him love you.

Prayer

Rev. Nicholas Ayo, C.S.C.

Lord God, your Son walked among us flawed human beings. He loved the poor, the sick, and the widowed. He delighted in little children. He sat at table with men and women who were sinners and called them to new life. Only hypocrisy raised anger in Jesus. Open our eyes and hearts to see ourselves as we are and to cast ourselves upon your mercy rather than to cover our shame with lying to ourselves and to those around us. Amen.

Saint of the Day

St. Pammachius

Pammachius was a prominent citizen in the ancient Christian empire of Rome, and his life is woven together with the lives of all of the prominent saints of his age. His devoted love for his wife led him to holiness, even after her death.

He was classmates with the great Scripture scholar, St. Jerome; they studied rhetoric together and remained close friends for the rest of their lives. Pammachius was a member of a noble family and grew up to become a Roman senator.

In 385, he married Paulina (who was also friends with St. Jerome; her mother is also a saint). Twelve years later, Paulina died in childbirth. Pammachius must have been heartbroken, as he received letters of sympathy and encouragement from many friends. “Your wife is now a witness and an intercessor for you with Jesus Christ,” wrote a friend, St. Paulinus. “Make her a partner in your charities. She is honored by your virtues. She is fed by the bread you have given to the poor.”

Pammachius took the advice and dedicated the rest of his life to works of charity. With another friend, St. Fabiola, he built a hospice in Rome to offer shelter to pilgrims, especially those who were sick and poor. He cared for the forgotten people of Rome—poor and disabled people gathered around him whenever he went into the streets. He saw his care for the poor as a way of following in his wife’s footsteps.

Pammachius corresponded with the great St. Augustine, and was fearlessly honest in his letters to St. Jerome, who was known to be bitter and vitriolic at times in his pursuit of the cause of truth. Pammachius wrote several times to urge Jerome to tone down his language. Jerome often refused, but their correspondence encouraged him into new ways of thinking.

St. Pammachius’ image is used here with permission from Catholic.org.

St. Pammachius, the Roman senator, your devotion to your deceased wife led you to give your life to the poor--pray for us!