Tuesday of week 21 in Ordinary Time
Saint Louis
Saint Joseph of Calasanz
Gospel: Matthew 23:23-26
In today’s Gospel, Jesus criticizes the scribes and Pharisees not because they pay attention to small religious duties, but because they carefully observe these while neglecting “the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy and faithfulness.” Jesus does not tell them to abandon the small things; rather, He says, “These you should have practised, without neglecting the others.” The Gospel therefore invites us to overcome the false choice between small duties and great responsibilities. Both become holy when they are done with love. A simple gesture of kindness, a small sacrifice, an ordinary responsibility faithfully fulfilled can contain immense love; and great works of justice, mercy, and service lose their Christian meaning if they are performed without love. Jesus also asks us to cleanse the inside of the cup, reminding us that what matters is the interior motive from which our actions flow. When love fills the heart, there is no insignificant duty and no great responsibility that becomes merely a performance. Louis IX of France sought to unite the responsibilities of a king with personal holiness, while Joseph Calasanz transformed the humble work of educating poor children into a great mission of service. Their lives remind us that holiness consists not necessarily in doing extraordinary things, but in doing both the small and the great things God entrusts to us with justice, mercy, faithfulness, and above all, love. Let’s reflect: Do I put the same genuine love into the small duties and the great responsibilities of my life, allowing justice, mercy, and faithfulness to flow from a heart transformed by Christ?
Don Giorgio