II. Eucharistic liturgy and conclusive rites
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Posted:Sep 16, 2007 9:44 pm
Last Updated:Sep 16, 2007 9:47 pm 2660 Views
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II. Eucharistic liturgy and conclusive rites
(PART II )
The Divine Master, royally seated on the divine throne of the Cross, had pronounced his last words to declare solemnly before heaven and before earth his merciful love of us.
~Padre, do you also recite during the Mass the seven words that Jesus had pronounced on the Cross?
Yes, unworthily, I pronounce them.
~And to whom do you say; “woman, here is thy ”?
I say to Her: here are the sons of Your .
~Do you suffer the thirst and abandonment of Jesus?
Yes
~When so you suffer the thirst and abandonment?
After the consecration.
~Up to which moment do you suffer the abandonment and the thirst?
Usually up to the Communion.
~Did Jesus Crucified have His entrails consumed?
I would say, rather, that they were burned!
~What did Jesus crucified thirst for?
For God’s Reign.
The same thirst used to set Padre Pio’s soul on fire. These were extremely and hours. Not one drop of comfort used to fall in the burnt up heart of Padre Pio.
~You have said you are ashamed to admit you tried, in vain, to find some comfort. Why?
~Because in comparison to what Jesus had to suffer, our suffering, as the real guilty ones, is a mere nothing.
~Whom are you ashamed of?
Of God and of my conscience.
~Don’t the Angels of the Lord comfort you on the altar where the sacrifice takes place?
But… I do not hear them.
~If the comfort does not reach you during the divine sacrifice and, like Jesus, you suffer the complete abandonment, our presence is useless.
The usefulness is all on your part. We should likewise consider useless then the presence of Our Lady, of John and of the pious women at the feet of the dying Lord.
The loving heart, rent at the sight of such severe abandonment, would not remain inert but would eagerly desire to take valid part in the violent suffering.
~Padre, why don’t you let us share your grief?
The jewels of the spouse are not to be made a gift of to anyone.
~Tell me what I can do to lighten your Calvary.
Lighten it?!… I would rather you make it heavier. We need to suffer!
~It is distressing to assist at your martyrdom without being able to do anything to help!
It was the same with Our Lady of Sorrow. However it was certainly more comforting for Jesus to have a mother who would grieve for him rather than a mother who was indifferent.
~What did the Virgin do at the feet of Jesus Crucified?
She suffered in seeing her suffering. She offered her grief and the suffering of Jesus to the celestial Father for our salvation.
It is not surprising that, though talking entire possession of its victim, the suffering is centered in two significant parts of the person of Padre Pio.
~Curiosity apart. Which is the wound that make you suffer most?
The head and the heart.
The Communion was the culminating part of the Mass pf Padre Pio; the supreme moment of the Passion of Jesus. Bent on the altar, his hands tight on the chalice, with the Lord in his heart, the Seraph of Pietrelcina, with his senses all taken up, would remain for long in close contact with Jesus.
The Padre was asked:
~What is Holy Communion?
It is all one mercy, all one embrace. Do pray to Jesus that he may make himself sensibly felt.
~Where does Jesus kiss you?
All over.
~When Jesus comes does he visit only the soul?
All the entire being.
~What does Jesus do in Communion?
He take delight in His creature.
~Is Communion an incorporation?
It is a fusion. In the way two candles are blended together not to be distinguishable anymore.
~When you unite with Jesus in Holy Communion, what should we ask the Lord for you?
That I too should become another Jesus, all Jesus, forever Jesus.
~You have given me to understand that the Sacred Species in you are not consumed; that the Blood of Jesus flows in your veins! Are you then a living Monstrance?
You are saying it!
By visiting every part of Padre Pio, making him one in Him, Jesus permitted the crucified man of Gargano to relish the mystery of His death in the same way He Himself relished at Calvary in offering the Sacrifice to the Father.
Between intonations of tender love and moments of exquisite pain, Padre Pio, in Jesus, also consummates his sacrifice.
~Why do you cry, Padre, when you receive Holy communion?
If the Church utters: “You did not scorn the Virgin’s womb” with regards to the incarnation, what should be said of us poor creatures?
~Do you suffer also at the Holy Communion?
It is the culminating point.
~Does the pain persist after the Communion?
Yes, but it is a loving pain.
~Doesn’t Jesus console you in this union?
Yes, but I still remain on the Cross! In this supreme instant a last glance is cast:
~Where did Jesus dying cast His last glance?
At His Mother.
~And where do you cast your last glance?
At my brothers in exile.
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Philippine Center for St. Pio of Pietrelcina, Inc.
188 E. Rodriguez Jr. Ave. Bagumbayan Q.C.
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II. Eucharistic liturgy and conclusive rites... Part I
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Posted:Sep 3, 2007 9:32 pm
Last Updated:Sep 3, 2007 9:36 pm 2504 Views
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II. Eucharistic liturgy and conclusive rites
(PART I )
The second part of the Mass finds Padre Pio a liturgist of the highest class. The Crucified Man of Golgotha, for this his very special minister, can re-actualize even visibly besides physically, according to the capability of a creature made an efficacious sign of Christ, the tremendous tragedy of Calvary.
In the history of the sacrament of the Mass, in the plurimillenial sacramental life of the Church, the Stigmatist of Gargano is still the only minister who, in the mystery of the altar, efficaciously expresses also in flesh, as far as is possible for him, the Crucified Man of Golgotha.
--Padre, is your Mass a sanguinary sacrifice?
Heretic!
--No, What I mean is that of Jesus is bloodless but your participation in the whole passion is sanguinary. Am I right?
Well!! …this time you are not mistaken. You may also be right.
--Who wipes your blood during the Mass?
No one.
At the offering once again Padre Pio would remain still for quite some time. It was a salient part of the Mass.
Nailed by mysterious force,, with tearful eyes always lovingly fixed on the Crucifix of the altar, the Padre would remain still as if petrified, for several minutes with the bread and wine in his hands.
--Why do you cry at offertory?
Do you want to rob me of my secret? Let it be. Well, then. It is the moment when the soul is separated from all that is profane.
The Lord will separate his servant to such an extent as to render him insensible to all that was profane around him.
--During your Mass, Padre the crowd is wont to be rather noisy!…
and what if you had been on Calvary where all you could hear was yells, blasphemies, noises, threats? It was a hubbub there!
--Do the noises made in the Church disturb you?
Not at all.
In spite of the separation, however, Padre Pio was not rigidly detached from all those who were present around him taking part in the celebration of his Mass. The close and complete union with god that succeeded after the separation of the soul from every profane element, gave to Padre Pio the superhuman possibility of detecting, one by one, all those who gathered around his altar.
--Padre, are all the faithful assisting your mass present in your spirit?
I see all my at the altar as if in a mirror.
With all the in his heart, Padre Pio would lie with Jesus on the Cross for the divine sacrifice. Padre Pio’s trembling face betrayed the love with which he gave himself as a victim. The Stigmatist of Gargano, between sobs and tears, in indescribable agony, would re-enact the divine tragedy of Calvary so vividly in himself, during the consecration, as to reveal in his painful body the tremendous martyrdom of Jesus crucified.
--Why do you suffer so much, Padre, during the consecration?
You are very unkind!
In a few words, Padre Pio at first tries to evade the issue. Another attempt was expected.
--Tell me why you suffer so much during the consecration?
Because right then a new and admirable destruction and creation takes place.
In a short and concise phrase, this time, Padre Pio says something more. The very singular miracle of the eucharistic conversion, is affirmed with absolute clarity. Nothing is said, however, as to the extent of his suffering at the moment of the transubstantiation: “in the new and admirable destruction and creation” the Padre dismisses, by concealing it, his intimate and secret participation.
Though it intended more that was said, the answer was not satisfying enough. It was only a gap. The right occasion was sought to make another question with the aim of extorting a more detailed answer.
--Why do you suffer so much during the consecration?
The secrets of the Most High are not revealed without profaning them. You ask me why I suffer. I would like to shed torrents of tears and not just a few drops! Doesn’t the tremendous mystery make you reflect? A god made victim for our sins!… We, then, are his butchers.
The tremendous mystery of the consecration captures the last hours passed by Christ on the Cross; the crucified man of Gargano re-lives, now, at the altar, one after the other, the last moments of the Crucified Man of Golgotha. We need now to bear in mind all that is written in the gospel about Jesus. First of all, the prologue to the crucifixion.
--Do you suffer the bitterness of the gall, Padre?
Yes and very often.
After having tasted the gall, the most patient of Francis reveals how he stands crucified on the altar.
--Padre, how do you manage to stand on your feet at the altar?
In the same way Jesus stood on the Cross.
--When at the altar, do you hang on the cross like Jesus on Calvary?
In the same way as Jesus on Calvary.
With regards to the Crucifixion Padre Pio is asked:
--Did the executioners overturn the cross in order to hammer in the nails?
Obviously!
--Do they hammer in the nails on you as well?
And how!
--Do they also overturn the cross in your case?
Yes, but no fear.
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Philippine Center for St. Pio of Pietrelcina, Inc.
188 E. Rodriguez Jr. Ave. Bagumbayan Q.C.
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The Parable of the Ten Virgins... reflect
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Posted:Aug 31, 2007 11:52 pm
Last Updated:Aug 31, 2007 11:55 pm 2704 Views
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The Parable of the Ten Virgins... Reflect…
In this parable of the Ten Virgins or Bridesmaids, it is not said clearly what the oil of the lamps stand for. But surely it represents something essential to Christian life since the lack of it excludes from entrance into the Kingdom. Consequently, we may think that Jesus is, no doubt, referring here to the gradual building up in our hearts of everyday love, patient, hope, steadfast faith. All of which is well within the reach of each one of us. And in this respect, we must guard ourselves against the temptation of waiting of grand occasions, for heroic feats of holiness to perform. Life is made mostly of small things. Tiny occasions are offered to us everyday to choose love, hope, faith, self-control, patience, forgiveness–all things which slowly, drop by drop, fill our hearts with the oil of holiness. In this area of daily living the Gospel in small ways, ways eminently suited to our small lives., St. Francis de Sales is the great specialist:
“The worst things, he writes, “that can befall persons who have good will is to want to be what they cannot be and not want to be what they necessarily must be. They conceive desires to do great things, which perhaps will never be expected of them; in the meantime, they neglect the little things which God puts into their hands. There are thousands of acts of virtue as, for example, to bear little troubles and the imperfections of our neighbors; to suffer a biting word or some little injustice… Very seldom do we have the opportunity to gain large ‘sums,’ but we can daily earn little ones. And with the intelligent handling of these little ‘earnings’ there are many who become rich” (“Spiritual Diary,” pp 19-20–quoted in The Vatican II Weekday Missal, p 1279 ).
Holiness is within reach of everyone, and it does not even require much time. Only much love.
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365 Days with the Lord
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Matthew 25:1-13... The Parable of the Ten Virgins
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Posted:Aug 31, 2007 11:46 pm
Last Updated:Apr 28, 2024 9:39 am 2627 Views
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Matthew 25:1-13
The Parable of the Ten Virgins
[Jesus said to his disciples,] “The kingdom of heaven will be like the virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them are foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones, when taking their lamps, brought no oil with them, but the wise brought flasks of oil with their lamps. Since the bridegroom was long delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep. At midnight, there was a cry, ‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’
Then all those virgins got up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’
But the wise ones replied, ‘No, there may not be enough for us and you. Go instead to the merchants and buy some for yourselves.’
While they went off to buy it, the bridegroom came and those who were ready went into the wedding feast with him. Then the door was locked.
Afterwards the other virgin came and said, ‘Lord, Lord, open the door for us!’
But he said in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, I do not know you.’ Therefore, stay awake, for you know neither the day nor the hour.”
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365 Days with the Lord
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Padre Pio's Mass... The celebration of the Holy Mass
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Posted:Aug 31, 2007 10:27 pm
Last Updated:Aug 31, 2007 10:29 pm 2704 Views
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The celebration of the Holy Mass
I. Initial rites and Liturgy of the word
In the name of the Father and of the and of the Holy Ghost: these are words that Padre Pio always pronounced with a lump in his throat, in order to resist and control the weeping that he does not succeed to restrain completely.
His “Mea Culpa” was accompanied by muffled beatings on his breast so as to confess before the community of brethren that he was the greatest sinner in the world.
--Padre, do you take our iniquities upon yourself, in the divine sacrifice?
I cannot do otherwise since that is part of the divine sacrifice.
--Does the Lord, then, consider you a sinner?
I don’t know, but I’m afraid it is so.
Once upon the altar, the Padre, after joining hands on the table, would bend down and remain for quite long in that position.
--I have seen you tremble as you went up the steps to the altar. Why? Was it for that which you were about to suffer?
Not for that which I had to suffer, but for that which I had to offer.
That which Padre Pio offers in the celebration of the Holy Mass is inherent in that which he suffers. Reaching the extreme point to which a human creature can arrive, suffering ‒ without dodging the point can prepare its victim for a total and perfect holocaust.
There is nothing which the Padre does not suffer, because he offers himself entirely.
--During which hours of the day do you suffer most. Padre?
During the celebration of the Holy Mass.
--Do you suffer also during the day, Padre, that which Jesus makes you suffer during the Holy Mass?
I’ll be in a real scrape! And how would I be able to work? How would I be able to practice my ministry?
The goodness of the Lord has been infinitely provident in revealing to us the very suffered offering of the Stigmatist of Gargano at the altar.
The Church rejoices for the great gift bestowed on her by the Lord; and the faithful on their part, are induced to glorify God, who thus visits his people.
During the Mass, with the crown of thorns on his head, or the immolation ‒ he said ‒ would not be complete, Padre Pio is subjected to a very particular suffering that in the history of the elect has been found only in him.
--At which point of the divine sacrifice do you suffer most?
Always and increasingly.
--Which is the moment during the celebration of the Holy Mass when you suffer most?
From the consecration to the communion.
With the typical faith of simple souls a significative question is made to Padre Pio: the answer makes one shudder, it upsets outright.
--During which part of the Mass do you suffer scourging?
From beginning to the end, but more intensely after the consecration.
--Are the stings of the crown of thorns and the wounds of the scourging real during the Mass?
What do you mean by this? The effect is the same all right.
In this way this meek and gentle lamb of Jesus prepares to offer to the celestial Father, together with the Martyr of Golgotha, his life in expiation of sins: by delivering his life for death, the servant of God, by means of the sacrifice, intercedes for sinners.
It is not easy to describe the contrite devotion with which he used to read the Epistle and the Gospel. The word of God used to affect him to such an extent that he could read certain extracts without crying.
--This morning during Mass, on reading the story of Esau who sold his birthright, your eyes were filled up with tears.
And is it nothing to you to fall to appreciate the gifts of God?
--Why did you cry when, in reading the Gospel, you arrived at the words: “Who eats my flesh and drinks my blood…”?
why don’t you join me in crying tears of affection.
--Why do you almost always cry when you read the gospel during the Holy Mass?
And do you deem it so little that God should condescend to talk with His creatures? And to be contradicted by them? And to be continuously wounded by their ingratitude and incredulity?
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Philippine Center for St. Pio of Pietrelcina, Inc.
188 E. Rodriguez Jr. Ave. Bagumbayan Q.C.
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The Unknown Day and Hour... Reflect
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Posted:Aug 30, 2007 9:23 pm
Last Updated:Aug 30, 2007 9:25 pm 2616 Views
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The Unknown Day and Hour... Reflect
The theme of our gospel reading, is that of vigilance. Jesus teaches his disciples to be always ready to meet him when he returns suddenly at the end of time. “Be on the alert,” he warns us.
The parable, warns us to be alert and focuses more particularly on the danger of relaxing our efforts to live good lives, of becoming slack Christians, of neglecting our duties. And that, indeed, is a danger for all of us. We make resolutions every New Year, maybe, but how long do we keep them? We go on recollection, confess our sins to a priest, resolve to do better in the future–only to backslide miserably after a few weeks or even a few days. Then, of course, discouragements sets in. Ah, discouragements! The devil’s favorite temptations for the committed Christians who wants to do better but goes on falling back into the same old sins. Isn’t it just as well, the devil whispers in your ears, to stop trying so hard, and just give up the whole impossible business? Then is the time when we separate the men from the boys, the women from the girls, the saints from the lukewarm Christians. This is when the first group continues trying without ever quitting, and when the second group accepts mediocrity as way of life.
In this connection, there is a relevant anecdote reported in The Saying of the Desert Fathers. It goes like this:
“A brother asked Abba Sisoes, ‘What shall I do, Abba, for I have fallen?’
The old man say to him, ‘Get up again.’
The brother said, ‘I have gotten up again, but I have fallen again.’
The old man said, ‘Get up again and again.’
So then the brother said, ‘How many times?’
Abba Sisoes answered the brother in one single phrase: ‘Until your death’” (Cistercian Studies n. 59 ).
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365 Days with the Lord
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Matthew 24:42-51... The Unknown Day and Hour
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Posted:Aug 30, 2007 9:17 pm
Last Updated:Aug 30, 2007 9:18 pm 2530 Views
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Matthew 24:42-51
The Unknown Day and Hour
[Jesus said to his disciples,] “Therefore, stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come. Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour of night when the thief was coming, he would stayed awake and not let his house be broken into. So too, you also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the of Man will come.
“Who, then is the faithful and prudent servant, whom the master has put in charge of his household to distribute to them their food at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master on his arrival finds doing so. Amen, I say to you, he will put him in charge of all his property. But if that wicked servant say to himself. ‘My master is long delayed,’ and begins to beat his fellow servants, and eat and drink with drunkards, the servant’s master will come on an unexpected day and at an unknown hour and will punish him severely and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.”
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365 Days with the Lord
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Padre Pio's Mass.... Actual preparation for the Holy Mass... Part II
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Posted:Aug 29, 2007 11:10 pm
Last Updated:Aug 29, 2007 11:15 pm 2582 Views
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Actual preparation for the Holy Mass
(Part II )
A shirt worn during the night by Padre Pio is all stained with spots of blood. It is a most exceptional document that shows in an impressive way the hard flagellation by Padre Pio during the night.
--How was Jesus reduced after the flagellation?
The prophet says: “He was one big wound; He became leprous”.
--Are you then also one entire wound from head to foot?
And isn’t that the glory of it all? And if there were no place for more wounds on my body, I would add wounds on the very wounds.
--My God, this is too much! You are, my dear Padre, your own executioner!
Do not fear, but rejoice. I do not desire to suffer for suffering’s sake, no, but for the fruits which it gives. It gives glory to God and it saves my brethren, what more can I wish for?
--Padre, when you are scourged during the night are you alone or is there someone with you?
The Holy virgin is with me; all Paradise is present.
There is also bandage with which Padre Pio used to wipe the blood that came out his head. It is treaked with blood: another very precious document of the crown of thorns, sublime diadem, given by Jesus to Padre Pio.
--Jesus willed that you also suffer the crown of thorns.
Otherwise the immolation would not be complete.
--which sins did God expiate with the crowning of thorns?
All sins. In particular those of thought, not excluding the vain and useless ones.
--Padre, are the thorns placed on your forehead or all round your head?
All around the head.
--Padre, I think that your crown is not made up of thirty, but of three hundred thorns.
You get impressed for a mere zero! And beside, isn’t thirty contained in three hundred?
And all this not just for a determined lapse of time. Padre Pio was explicit:
--Padre, is it true that during the Mass you suffer the torment of the crowning with thorns?
And need you doubt it?
--During all the Mass?
And also prior to the Mass and after. The diadem is ever present.
The Padre could not make it from his cell to the altar. Physically, he could not stand on his feet; he always needed to lean against the arm of a fellow brother on his way.
The rosary beads in hand, visible spiritual support of Mary, after stopping with eyes full of tears before the picture of the immaculate which hung on the stairs, Padre Pio would go to the sacristy.
Pale and exhausted, after putting on the sacred vestments, he would go to the altar.
--Padre, do you also suffer what Jesus suffered on the way of the Cross?
I do suffer it, but I’m far from equaling that which the Divine Master suffered!
--Who acts as your Cyrenian and as your Veronica?
Jesus Himself.
After going through the way of the cross ‒ or better still; the way of Paradise ‒ the Padre would reach Calvary to sacrifice himself to Jesus. The eyes of the crowds would gaze ecstatically at this very singular minister of Christ, trying to penetrate the mystery of the celebration of that interminable Mass. Each could, more or less, according to the way one was bestowed by the Holy Spirit, catch a glimpse of the Crucifix of Golgothe in the Stigmatist of Gargano, made a visible and effective sign of Him at the altar.
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Philippine Center for St. Pio of Pietrelcina, Inc.
188 E. Rodriguez Jr. Ave. Bagumbayan Q.C.
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Padre Pio's Mass... Actual preparation for the Holy Mass ... Part 1
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Posted:Aug 29, 2007 4:44 pm
Last Updated:Aug 29, 2007 4:49 pm 2450 Views
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Actual preparation for the Holy Mass
The Eucharist was the sentre of attraction ewhere all the moments of the day of Padre Pio used to converge. All hours of the day were an uninterrupted preparation and thanksgiving to Jesus in the Holy Sacrament. In waiting for the celebration of the Holy Mass, however, with a burning heart the Seraph of Gargano used to spenf the most silent hours of the night to prepare himself in a superhuman way for the Passion of Christ.
--Padre, after prayers when you retire to your cell in the evening, what do you do?
I continue to pray and to suffer.
--What do you do at night since you sleep so very little?
The will of God.
It is from the moment that Padre Pio, “doing the will of God”, starts to make his all Passion of Christ.
The agony in the garden, the trial before Pio ate, the way to Calvary, the Sacrifice of the Cross, are all entirely re-lived by the stigmatized priest of Gargano.
Henceforth we shall only hear the voice of Padre Pio. We shall give, with absolute faithfulness, both the questions as they were amade to Padre Pio and the answers as Padre Pio himself gave them.
The diligent of Francis ‒ it is well to say at once ‒ does not reveal one after the other all the moments of the Passion of Jesus in the order of celebration of the Mass. It is only a little treasure of very precious pearls that fall unknowingly perhaps, as he tries to secure them carefully in the secret coffer of his heart.
It is further noted that as for the answers, given in a restrained and at the same time hair-raising way for us, Padre Pio ‒ if we care to notice ‒ always chooses to answer in toned-down statements: the very candid crystal of his humility remains pure.
First of all he is asked:
--Padre, what is your Mass?
A sacred fix with the Passion of Jesus. My responsibility is unique in the world, he says between sobs.
--What should I read in your Holy Mass?
All Calvary.
A more detailed comparison between the Victim of the Gospel and the one of Gargano was inevitable.
--Padre, tell me all that you suffer in the Holy Mass.
All that Jesus has suffered in His Passion, inadequately, I also suffer, as far as possible for human being. And all this against all my un worthiness and thanks only to his goodness.
The Passion of Christ then is entirely re-lived, from the Last Supper to Calvary, by the Stigmatist of Gargano. There is no passage that the Gospel records of the Passion of Christ which is not also suffered by the Padre.
--Padre, how can we get to know your Passion?
By knowing all about the Passion of Christ; in the one suffered by Jesus you will also find the one I suffer.
It’s a matter now of going over, in order, the various moments of the Passion of the of God made man in order to contemplate them in Padre Pio. And Padre Pio begins the Passion of Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane.
--Padre, do you agonize like Jesus in the garden?
Surely
--Does the angel also come to comfort you as he had comforted Jesus?
Yes.
--What kind of “fiat” do you utter?
To suffer and always to suffer for our brothers in exile and for His Divine Reign.
The shouting of the bribed Jews and foolish gestures of the imitable prosecutor to appease the murderous crowd, are jewels that the murderous crowd, are jewels that the Most Innocent jealousy preserves for very rare and exceptional occasions.
As in the civil trial of Christ, therefore, there just had to be an uproar around Padre Pio where the mob would cry incessantly against the just one.
--You have also said that they would cry “crucify him!” Who would cry?
The sons of man and the very favored ones.
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Philippine Center for St. Pio of Pietrelcina, Inc.
188 E. Rodriguez Jr. Ave. Bagumbayan Q.C.
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Neglect for Weightier Things... reflect
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Posted:Aug 27, 2007 10:01 pm
Last Updated:Aug 29, 2007 3:15 am 4172 Views
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Neglect for Weightier Things... Reflect…
We might not recognize ourselves immediately in the description that Jesus makes of the legalist-hypocrites in today’s gospel reading. However, if we are a bit honest, we will admit that at least sometimes we have moments of hypocrisy, of legalism of our lives. These happen any time we seek to appear to be what we are not, especially in the area of personal worth. In fact, if we were very honest and not just a bit, we would probably admit that legalistic hypocrisy is almost always lurking at the back of our minds at least as a permanent temptation. Now, why is legalism so tempting.
In today’s gospel reading, Jesus provides the answer to that question; legalism is tempting because it present the easy way out of our moral obligations. This is made abundantly clear in the first example he gives. For it is obviously far easier to pay the tithes on mint and herbs and seed than to concern oneself about the more important areas of justice, mercy good faith. Legalism is for the lazy. It requires less effort. And it has the added advantage as a bonus that it gives the nice feeling of being obedient to God, since the legalist can boast of having indeed fulfilled the law down to its smallest details!
On the other hand, why is hypocrisy so tempting? Here Jesus does not answer this question. He merely describes the behavior of the hypocrites; they are concerned with looking good, without trying to be good. Again, though, we could say that this description implicitly answer the question as to why hypocrisy is so tempting. It is because trying to be good is far more demanding than merely looking good. What we are in the sight of other people is easy to fake; but we cannot fool God.
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365 Days with the Lord
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