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July 12th, 2024 Calender

Daily Reading & Reflections

October 12, 2021

Tuesday of the Twenty-eighth Week in Ordinary Time  

October 12, 2021

Tuesday of the Twenty-eighth Week in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 468

Reading I

Rom 1:16-25

Brothers and sisters:
I am not ashamed of the Gospel.
It is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes:
for Jew first, and then Greek.
For in it is revealed the righteousness of God from faith to faith;
as it is written, “The one who is righteous by faith will live.”

The wrath of God is indeed being revealed from heaven
against every impiety and wickedness
of those who suppress the truth by their wickedness.
For what can be known about God is evident to them,
because God made it evident to them.
Ever since the creation of the world,
his invisible attributes of eternal power and divinity
have been able to be understood and perceived in what he has made.
As a result, they have no excuse;
for although they knew God
they did not accord him glory as God or give him thanks.
Instead, they became vain in their reasoning,
and their senseless minds were darkened.
While claiming to be wise, they became fools
and exchanged the glory of the immortal God
for the likeness of an image of mortal man
or of birds or of four-legged animals or of snakes.

Therefore, God handed them over to impurity
through the lusts of their hearts
for the mutual degradation of their bodies.
They exchanged the truth of God for a lie
and revered and worshiped the creature rather than the creator,
who is blessed forever. Amen. 

Responsorial Psalm

19:2-3, 4-5

  1.  (2a) The heavens proclaim the glory of God.
    The heavens declare the glory of God,
        and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.
    Day pours out the word to day,
        and night to night imparts knowledge.
    R.    The heavens proclaim the glory of God.
    Not a word nor a discourse
        whose voice is not heard;
    Through all the earth their voice resounds,
        and to the ends of the world, their message.
    R.    The heavens proclaim the glory of God.

Alleluia

Heb 4:12

  1. Alleluia, alleluia.
    The word of God is living and effective,
    able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart.
    R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel

Lk 11:37-41

After Jesus had spoken,
a Pharisee invited him to dine at his home.
He entered and reclined at table to eat.
The Pharisee was amazed to see
that he did not observe the prescribed washing before the meal.
The Lord said to him, “Oh you Pharisees!
Although you cleanse the outside of the cup and the dish,
inside you are filled with plunder and evil.
You fools!
Did not the maker of the outside also make the inside?
But as to what is within, give alms,
and behold, everything will be clean for you.”

Reflection: THE MARK OF HYPOCRICY

The first two verses of Paul's letter to the Romans, give us the theme of the whole letter. For Paul, the gospel is the power; God uses to save both the pagans and the Jews. He tells them that their pagan culture could not stem the moral decay in the society. Faith in the Gospel of Jesus alone can bring salvation to people. The Gospel presents the conflict between Jesus and the religious authorities. Jesus and the Pharisees were close to some extent and enjoyed a certain familiarity between them. So when invited to eat at their houses, Jesus accepts the invitation. He did not lose the opportunity to teach them about the spirit of LOVE that they missed out while they emphasized the practice of the law. The washing of the hands, originally a matter of cleanliness, later turns out to be a ceremonial law. Sometimes it looked ridiculous when they emphasized these practices while missed out the spirit behind them. The Pharisees were good people who dedicated much time on study of the law and worked hard to sustain their families. But they focused on the letter of the law. Jesus tells them that it was like cleaning the cup on the outside and leaving the inside dirty. Hence they were blind to the spirit of the law. Jesus then by combining (Dt 6:4-6) and (Lev 19:18) make them understand the core of the ten commandments: Love God and love your neighbour as yourself. Today our life also can become hypocritical when we do not live by the law of love.