CATHOLIC MASS: Memorial of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary 8.22.16 – Video, Scripture, Links

“… your Faith flourishes ever more… the love of every one of you for one another grows ever greater. … we … boast of you in the churches of God regarding your endurance and faith in all your persecutions ….” “Proclaim God’s marvelous Deeds to all the nations” … “‘Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees …. You traverse sea and land to make one convert, … [then] make him a child of Gehenna twice as much as yourselves’ … ”

MASS READINGS 8.22.16 – FIRST READING: 2 Thessalonians 1:1-5, 11-12 – PSALM 96:1-2a, 2b-3, 4-5 – GOSPEL: Matthew 23:13-22 – FIND A MASS: MassTimes.org – FIND A MASS: TheCatholicDirectory.com

DAILY TV MASS: Catholic TV – Boston

DAILY TV MASS: Toronto

FIRST READING

FIRST READING: 2 Thessalonians 1:1-5, 11-12

Writing to the Church of the Thessalonians, Saint Paul and his companions, Timothy and Silvanus, end up outlining some of the virtues of a Christian community. Some include faith, love of neighbor and endurance in the face of persecution.

… your faith flourishes ever more,
… the love of every one of you for one another grows ever greater.
… we … boast of you in the churches of God
regarding your endurance and faith in all your persecutions
and the afflictions you endure.

This is evidence of the just judgment of God,
so that you may be considered worthy of the Kingdom of God
for which you are suffering.

The letter-writers promise to pray for the recipients, that they be made worthy of God’s Calling, that the Name of the Lord Jesus may be Glorified in them, bringing their efforts of Faith and good purposes to fulfillment, in accordance with God’s Grace.

RESPONSORIAL PSALM

PSALM 96:1-2a, 2b-3, 4-5

Proclaim God’s marvelous Deeds to all the nations.

GOSPEL

GOSPEL:Matthew 23:13-22

Jesus preaches against scribes and Pharisees who, despite occupying positions of power and status in organized religion, fail to earn entrance to Heaven themselves, and, indeed, even become obstacles to the Salvation of others.

Jesus said to the crowds and to His Disciples:
‘Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites.
You lock the Kingdom of Heaven before men.
You do not enter yourselves,
nor do you allow entrance to those trying to enter.

The evildoers even seek out converts, only to lead them to damnation.

‘Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees ….
You traverse sea and land to make one convert,
… [then] make him a child of Gehenna
twice as much as yourselves.

Unfortunately this phenomenon demonstrates what can sometimes be a recurring pattern in human activity.

Sometimes the wrong parties take over a particular role or activity, a particular piece of “turf,” that could have been used more positively, displacing others who might have stepped in and done better.

Christ also addresses another phenomenon. The scribes and Pharisees apparently would manipulate people by coming up with contrivances as false standards, and implicitly invoke important considerations to justify the false standards, while cynically undermining and diluting the important considerations at the same time.

In this case, the scribes and Pharisees would argue that swearing by the temple or the altar meant nothing, but that swearing by some valuable item enriching temple officials was what mattered. The implication is that they want to use the significance of the temple and the altar to make the item seem more important, and perhaps inflate the significance of enriching them, while simultaneously denigrating the value of the temple and the altar.

“Woe to you, blind guides, who say,
‘If one swears by the temple, it means nothing,
but if one swears by the gold of the temple, one is obligated.’
Blind fools, which is greater, the gold,
or the temple that made the gold sacred? …

Christ’s rebuke restores a positive focus on respect for God and His Temple:

One who swears by the altar swears by it and all that is upon it;
one who swears by the temple swears by it
and by Him who dwells in it;
one who swears by Heaven swears by the Throne of God
and by Him Who is seated on it.”

The scribes and the Pharisees want to “cozy up” to God and people’s faith, to enrich themselves, inflate their status and have people pay attention to what they say, while simultaneously looking for ways to undermine respect for God and temple. One speculates that perhaps, like all evildoers, they realize that they are at odds with God, and therefore want to find ways to disrespect God and His followers, however overt or subtle, as their circumstances permit.

[Scripture passages excerpted or adapted from the NABRE, available online from the USCCB, which provides the following rights statement:

Scripture texts in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C. and are used by permission of the copyright owner. All Rights Reserved. No part of the New American Bible may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the copyright owner.]