WEDNESDAY OF THE TWENTY-EIGHTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME - 2020

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

The sheep that belong to me listen to my voice,
says the Lord,
I know them and they follow me. JN 10:27

GALATIANS 5:18-25

My Beloved, Soul of my soul,

The sins of the world have not changed since the fall of Adam and Eve. In every generation from the very beginning, there is a weak fault line running in human nature that draws us to concupiscence and inclines us to give in to our baser instincts. St. Paul makes clear the difference between those who are guided by the Spirit and those who are guided by the world.

The world, the flesh, and the devil, this unholy trinity inveigles us to give in to our baser instincts. The world celebrates self-indulgence of every kind. These grave aberrations are not only seen as normal but are encouraged by those with power to influence the culture. St. Paul lists the works of the flesh and warns that all who engage in them will not inherit the Kingdom of God. These are precisely what the world encourages and promotes - immorality, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, rivals, jealousy, outbursts of fury, outbursts of fury, acts of selfishness, dissensions, factions, occasions of envy, drinking bouts, orgies, etc.  

In contrast, those who are guided by the Holy Spirit are known by the fruit they bear - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. There is no law that governs this way of life for where the Spirit is there is true freedom. The baptized are the ones who belong to You, Beloved, and if we belong to You then we are called to put to death the works of the flesh and all its passions and desires. This is not possible on our own this is why You sent us the Holy Spirit, the Helper, if we are guided by Him we will reach our goal in safety. 

PSALM 1:1-4, 6

My Beloved, Soul of my soul,

In the first verse of the first psalm in the Bible, we are encouraged to seek to imitate those who delight in You and Your Word. We are encouraged to delight in Your Word, to make it our food and drink. If we do, we will be like trees planted beside clear streams of water. We will bear good fruit, the fruit of the Holy Spirit that Paul has listed in his letter to the Galatians in every season of our life.  We will never grow old in spirit but will be alive with Your life which the Spirit will give us in abundance. All the work we do at the prompting of the Holy Spirit will prosper because our will is aligned to Yours.

Your unwavering gaze filled with tenderness and love will be upon us and You will watch over us all the days we live because we are planted in You, we are rooted in You, we are fed and nourished by You and Your Word. Eternity for us has already begun because the Eternal Word abides in us. While no memory of the wicked will remain those who follow You will live forever.

LUKE 11:42-46

My Beloved, Soul of my soul,

Today we are warned just as You warned the Pharisees of the danger of getting caught up with inanities, with things that are not the least bit important, with insignificant meaningless rituals. There is always a danger of being extremely careful of following to the letter, lifeless traditions, and make them the be-all and end-all of our faith whereas the truth is they only bring death. 

You bluntly pointed out the hypocrisy of the Pharisees who made a great show of carefully observing the absolutely irrelevant parts of the law while ignoring that which was absolutely imperative they keep in mind - God's righteous judgment and love for Him. 

We are reminded to first keep the commandment to love God then everything that follows will be pleasing and acceptable to Him. Like the Pharisees, we too are guilty of putting our own interests over that of others. We want to be noticed, to be acknowledged, we want what we do to be recognized and commended. We want the applause of our peers.  We want the best seat, the place of honor, the respect of those around us. We too can display an outward appearance of goodness but the truth is we are as filled with decay as a grave on the inside.

One of the scholars of the law petulantly complained that You were insulting them as well. You pinned Your gaze on him and ripped into him as well for his lack of compassion for the poor.  Too often we can be severe, hard, and critical over the weaknesses of others while we make all kinds of excuses for ourselves. Unless we are humble nothing we do will have any merit in Your sight.