Memorial of St. Augustine Bishop and Doctor of the Church Homily for Monday of the 21st Week in Ordinary Time.
Memorial of St. Augustine Bishop and Doctor of the Church Homily for Monday of the 21st Week in Ordinary Time. 1 Thessalonians 1:1-5,8b-10. Psalm 149:1b-2,3-4,5-6a,9bc. Matthew 23:13-22. We begin the first reading this week from the First Letter of St. Paul to the Thessalonians. Paul is full of praise for the Thessalonians because of their faith, openness, and acceptance of God's word. Their faith is reflected in action. There is absolutely no point in professing faith if one is not ready to practise it. Our faith in God must shape our conduct by which we look to God as the source of our life, trusting that His love will lead us in our journey to the fullness of life God has planned for us. In today's Gospel, we hear Jesus condemning the scribes and the Pharisees for their pretence and religious hypocrisy. They are concerned more with outer appearance than inner value, thereby pretending to be what they are not. They want to impress people while their hearts are far from God...