Memorial of Saint Alphonsus Liguori, Bishop and Doctor of the Church
Today’s Reflection
Gospel: Mt 13: 36-43
August 1, 2023 | Tuesday
Then he sent the crowds away and went into the house. And his disciples came to him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.” Jesus answered them, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world; the good seed are the people of the kingdom; the weeds are those who follow the evil one. The enemy who sows the weeds is the devil; the harvest is the end of time, and the workers are the angels.
Just as the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so will it be at the end of time. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom all that is scandalous and all who do evil. And these will be thrown into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the just will shine, like the sun, in the kingdom of their Father. If you have ears, then hear.
Today’s Reflection:
“If you have ears, then hear” is the call from the Gospel reading today. In life, we tend to live as if everything, when it is built by self-reliance and ambition, becomes permanently ours. But nothing is permanent in this life but change. The parable we reflect on reminds us that there will be changes in the endpoint. Life changes when God will eventually evaluates how we spent our lives. As we hear this gospel reading today, hear it well then, and let this be an intermediate reminder that we will never possess what we have right now forever. Things will pass, and these passing things will be thrown into the fire. If we keep on attaching ourselves to these things, we will also run the risk of being thrown into the fire. /Vulnerasti, 2023
