Today’s Reflection
Gospel:  Mt 23: 1-12
November 5, 2023 | Sunday

Today’s Gospel

Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees have sat down on the chair of Moses. So you shall do and observe all they say; but do not do as they do, for they do not do what they say. They tie up heavy burdens and load them on the shoulders of the people, but they do not even lift a finger to move them. They do everything in order to be seen by people: they wear very wide bands of the law around their foreheads, and robes with large tassels. They enjoy the first places at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues, and they like being greeted in the marketplace, and being called ‘Master’ by the people.

But you, do not let yourselves be called Master, because you have only one Master, and all of you are brothers and sisters. Neither should you call anyone on earth Father, because you have only one Father, he who is in heaven. Nor should you be called Leader, because  Christ is the only Leader for you. Let the greatest among you be the servant of all. For whoever makes himself great shall be humbled, and whoever humbles himself shall be made great.

Today’s Reflection:

Pope Paul VI would note, “Modern man listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if he does listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses” (Evangelii Nuntiandi, 41). Witnessing should consume a big part of the whole of our Christian faith. It is, as a matter of fact, what makes the latter spread widely and abruptly in the world because of the witnessing of the first-century Christians who never hesitated to give their lives to witness to the truth. Some people give because they have plenty. Others give in order to gain control or boost their pride. But it is a lot more different when we give because we know how it feels to have nothing. Let us be reminded of the words of Saint Augustine: “Pride lurks even in good works in order to destroy it.” But just like what Pontius Pilate got when He asked Jesus what the truth is, there was no answer given to him because it is an invalid question. The only valid question is, “Who is the truth?” / Vulnerasti, 2023