Saint Hedwig, Religious
Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque, Virgin
Biographical Information about St. Hedwig[1]
Biographical Information about St. Margaret Mary Alacoque[2]
Readings for Tuesday of the Twenty-eighth Week in Ordinary Time[3]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
Commentary:
Reading 1 Rom 1:16-25
St. Paul, after his introduction and prayer, takes up the major theme of his letter to the Romans, salvation through faith. The critical and unbelieving reception he received is acknowledged in the opening lines – “I am not ashamed of the gospel”.
This passage goes on to point out the purposely disrespectful attitude of the “those who suppress the truth” since God’s presence is make clear in His creation. In spite of this evidence they have made graven images of people (and animals) to worship. These amoral people have degraded themselves with their excesses and God, whom they have abandoned for creatures, has handed them over to this degradation of body and mind.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 19:2-3, 4-5
R. The heavens proclaim the glory of God.
Psalm 19 rejoices in God’s visible hand, revealed in all creation. The same argument St. Paul uses in the opening of his criticism of the idolaters of Rome.
Gospel Lk 11:37-41
St. Luke regularly associates Jesus with the Pharisees; in this case he is again dining with a member of that group. The Lord is challenged for his failure to observe the strict ritual cleansing required by pharisaic law. In response, he chastises the Pharisee for mistaking external hygiene for purity of spirit, saying that it is more important to demonstrate spiritual purity, especially through giving alms for the poor, than acts of religiosity for the sake of appearance.
Reflection:
It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words. Today the scriptural message deals with purity of soul. St. Paul first provides a profession of God’s active presence as he points out his visible act of creation, obvious to the faithful but ignored by the wise. How good is all that the Father created.
Following St. Paul’s profession we find the Lord taking a Pharisee to task for not understanding that our actions proclaim our faith, our internal love of God, not external acts intended to show others how religious we are. He tells his scrupulously religious host that he has washed the outside (with his ritual purification) but the inside needs to be transformed. It is through selfless acts that this will be seen. Give alms – help those in need – in this way the interior purpose is revealed.
As was said in the beginning, a picture is worth a thousand words. Today we are given two of them. First, is St. Hedwig. At a time when monarchies were self-centered and corrupt, she was a light of faith and charity for her people. When she had completed her motherly task of raising her children, she gave away all she owned to the poor and entered religious life.
The next image of faith is St. Margret Mary Alacoque. In addition to her lifelong devotion to our Lord, she is credited with starting the practice of “the Holy Hour”. Her devotion to Christ’s mission on earth inspires us to acts of adoration and thanksgiving.
Today our prayer is that we can be seen as heralds of Christ, but for our acts of love, compassion, and charity, not just because we participate in ritual worship. The inside must be clean, as well as the outside.
Pax
[1] The first picture is St. Hedwig, Queen of Poland, Artist and Date UNKNOWN
[2] The second picture is St. Margaret Mary Alacoque by George Pollard of the Alliance of the Two Hearts
[3] After Links to Readings Expire
Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque, Virgin
Biographical Information about St. Hedwig[1]
Biographical Information about St. Margaret Mary Alacoque[2]
Readings for Tuesday of the Twenty-eighth Week in Ordinary Time[3]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
Commentary:
Reading 1 Rom 1:16-25
St. Paul, after his introduction and prayer, takes up the major theme of his letter to the Romans, salvation through faith. The critical and unbelieving reception he received is acknowledged in the opening lines – “I am not ashamed of the gospel”.
This passage goes on to point out the purposely disrespectful attitude of the “those who suppress the truth” since God’s presence is make clear in His creation. In spite of this evidence they have made graven images of people (and animals) to worship. These amoral people have degraded themselves with their excesses and God, whom they have abandoned for creatures, has handed them over to this degradation of body and mind.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 19:2-3, 4-5
R. The heavens proclaim the glory of God.
Psalm 19 rejoices in God’s visible hand, revealed in all creation. The same argument St. Paul uses in the opening of his criticism of the idolaters of Rome.
Gospel Lk 11:37-41
St. Luke regularly associates Jesus with the Pharisees; in this case he is again dining with a member of that group. The Lord is challenged for his failure to observe the strict ritual cleansing required by pharisaic law. In response, he chastises the Pharisee for mistaking external hygiene for purity of spirit, saying that it is more important to demonstrate spiritual purity, especially through giving alms for the poor, than acts of religiosity for the sake of appearance.
Reflection:
It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words. Today the scriptural message deals with purity of soul. St. Paul first provides a profession of God’s active presence as he points out his visible act of creation, obvious to the faithful but ignored by the wise. How good is all that the Father created.
Following St. Paul’s profession we find the Lord taking a Pharisee to task for not understanding that our actions proclaim our faith, our internal love of God, not external acts intended to show others how religious we are. He tells his scrupulously religious host that he has washed the outside (with his ritual purification) but the inside needs to be transformed. It is through selfless acts that this will be seen. Give alms – help those in need – in this way the interior purpose is revealed.
As was said in the beginning, a picture is worth a thousand words. Today we are given two of them. First, is St. Hedwig. At a time when monarchies were self-centered and corrupt, she was a light of faith and charity for her people. When she had completed her motherly task of raising her children, she gave away all she owned to the poor and entered religious life.
The next image of faith is St. Margret Mary Alacoque. In addition to her lifelong devotion to our Lord, she is credited with starting the practice of “the Holy Hour”. Her devotion to Christ’s mission on earth inspires us to acts of adoration and thanksgiving.
Today our prayer is that we can be seen as heralds of Christ, but for our acts of love, compassion, and charity, not just because we participate in ritual worship. The inside must be clean, as well as the outside.
Pax
[1] The first picture is St. Hedwig, Queen of Poland, Artist and Date UNKNOWN
[2] The second picture is St. Margaret Mary Alacoque by George Pollard of the Alliance of the Two Hearts
[3] After Links to Readings Expire
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