Daily Gospel Reflection
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February 23, 2024
Jesus said to his disciples:
“I tell you,
unless your righteousness surpasses that
of the scribes and Pharisees,
you will not enter into the Kingdom of heaven.
“You have heard that it was said to your ancestors,
You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment.
But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother
will be liable to judgment,
and whoever says to his brother, Raqa,
will be answerable to the Sanhedrin,
and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ will be liable to fiery Gehenna.
Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar,
and there recall that your brother
has anything against you,
leave your gift there at the altar,
go first and be reconciled with your brother,
and then come and offer your gift.
Settle with your opponent quickly while on the way to court.
Otherwise your opponent will hand you over to the judge,
and the judge will hand you over to the guard,
and you will be thrown into prison.
Amen, I say to you,
you will not be released until you have paid the last penny.”
Whenever I hear fiery and exacting words from Jesus, such as those we read today, I have a knee-jerk reaction in which I attempt a rapid-fire, anxious examination of conscience. A few seconds later, I somehow manage to convince myself, “I’m still good” (even if, in reality, my attempts to follow Jesus could use a bit of polish).
“Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of Heaven.” These words are, of course, a stern critique of the scribes and Pharisees for their hard-hearted fixation on the letter of the law. But we must remember that this passage comes immediately after Jesus proclaims, “I have come not to abolish the law, but to fulfill it.” Adherence to God’s law is a holy enterprise, and Jesus calls each of us to do it. But he asks us to do so with something more.
Jesus wants us to follow the law with humility, integrity, and love toward God and neighbor. He wants us to “bring our gift to the altar.” For us, that means bringing ourselves to Mass every Sunday. He commands us to do the work of the liturgy, which, in our Catholic tradition, includes asking for mercy and seeking healing in our relationships. Take, for instance, the familiar words of the Penitential Act:
“I confess to Almighty God and to you, my brothers and sisters, that I have greatly sinned, in my thoughts and in my words, in what I have done and what I have failed to do, through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault…”
Or, more simply: “Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.”
Thanks be to God that our pleas for mercy and efforts toward reconciliation are central to the liturgical and sacramental life of the church. This gift allows me to set aside my anxious response to Jesus’ commands and know that there is something tangible I can do every time I attend Mass to begin the path toward fulfilling the law with all of my heart.
Prayer
Lord, you know all too well that it is so easy for us to hold on to resentments and live with anger even at the slightest offenses. Help us to forgive and reconcile with each other so that we may come to know and accept your mercy in our lives and extend that same mercy to others. Amen.
Saint of the Day

St. Polycarp was an important early martyr, and the story of his death is famous because he was miraculously preserved when they tried to burn him at the stake.
Polycarp was among a group of Church fathers who were in the first generation of Christians to be taught by the disciples themselves—he learned the faith from St. John, and in turn, Polycarp taught others, such as St. Irenaeus.
Polycarp lived at a time when the faith was still taking shape—the smallest deviation from the truth that he had received would have long-reaching consequences for us today, and he seemed to be aware of that. He had no patience for those who distorted the faith. The story is told that he once passed by a man in Rome who was teaching the faith with error. When it seemed that Polycarp walked by him without recognizing him, the man called out, “Do you not know me?” Polycarp replied, “I know you—you are the first-born of Satan!”
He was an active leader in the early Church, writing letters to far-flung Christian communities and engaging the pope on matters such as the date of Easter. But Polycarp is most famous for the account of his martyrdom.
He lived during a time of persecution, and while some Christians were willingly giving up their lives—going so far as to turn themselves in to be eaten by lions—he is remembered for being ready to die for his faith, but also living to spread that faith for as long as he could.
When he was to be arrested, he fled and hid for as long as he could. He was eventually betrayed and when authorities finally discovered him, he refused to escape any further. He met the officials at the door, and even fed them supper. He only asked for a few hours to pray before they took him away.
He was taken to an outdoor amphitheater where a great crowd assembled to see him face a judge. He was ordered to renounce Christ, and he flatly refused, confessing his faith plainly and forthrightly.
“I have wild beasts,” the judge said.
“Call for them,” replied Polycarp, “for we will not be moved from good to evil.”
“If you hate the beasts, I will have you consumed by fire,” the judge said.
“You threaten me with fire that burns for a season and is quenched after a while” Polycarp replied, “but you do not know of the judgment to come and of the fire of eternal punishment that is prepared for the wicked. Why do you delay? Bring against me what you please.”
They built a pyre and placed him on it, and began to prepare to nail him to the stake. He told them to leave him alone, telling them that “the one who gives me grace to endure the fire will enable me to remain on the pyre unmoved.” They tied only his hands behind his back, and Polycarp proclaimed a moving prayer that praised God and asked that his death be a Christ-like sacrifice.
Witnesses report that when the wood at his feet was ignited, it swelled like the sails of a ship to gently surround Polycarp without burning him. They said that they could smell a fragrance like incense.
Seeing this, the authorities thrust a spear into his body, which finally killed him. This is remembered as happening on February 23, but scholars disagree as to whether it was 155 or 166. The relics of St. Polycarp rest in the Basilica on campus, and his icon appears here with permission from Catholic.org.
St. Polycarp, you were the early Church martyr who was miraculously preserved from burning at the stake—pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of St. Polycarp is available for use under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication. Last accessed December 6, 2024 on Wikimedia Commons.