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Keep alive within you and bring under wise control that courage which makes you long to undertake great works, which others might consider it folly to attempt.
- Mary Euphrasia Pelletier, Embrace the World
(What great works do you aspire to undertake? Pray the grace to dream the dreams God has for you.) |
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EPH 4:1-7, 11-13; PS 19:2-3, 4-5
MT 9:9-13
As Jesus passed by,
he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the customs post.
He said to him, "Follow me."
And he got up and followed him.
While he was at table in his
house,
many tax collectors and sinners came
and sat with Jesus and his disciples.
The Pharisees saw this and said to his disciples,
"Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?"
He heard this and said,
"Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do.
Go and learn the meaning of the words,
I desire mercy, not sacrifice.
I did not come to call the righteous but sinners."
USCCB Lectionary
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Feast of St. Matthew
When the Pharisees challenged Jesus' unorthodox behavior in eating with public sinners, Jesus' defense was quite simple. A doctor doesn't need to visit
healthy people; instead he goes to those who are sick. Jesus likewise sought out those in the greatest need. A true physician seeks healing of the whole person - body, mind, and spirit. Jesus came as the divine physician and good shepherd to care for his people and to restore them to wholeness of life. The orthodox were so preoccupied with their own practice of religion that they neglected to help the very people who needed spiritual care. Their religion was selfish because they didn't want to
have anything to do with people not like themselves. Jesus stated his mission in unequivocal terms: I came not to call the righteous, but to call sinners. Ironically the orthodox were as needy as those they despised. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).
On more than one occasion Jesus
quoted the saying from the prophet Hosea: For I desire mercy and not sacrifice (Hosea 6:6). Do you thank the Lord Jesus for the great mercy he has shown to you? And do you show mercy to your neighbor as well?
"Lord Jesus, our Savior, let us now come to you: Our hearts are cold; Lord, warm them with your
selfless love. Our hearts are sinful; cleanse them with your precious blood. Our hearts are weak; strengthen them with your joyous Spirit. Our hearts are empty; fill them with your divine presence. Lord Jesus, our hearts are yours; possess them always and only for yourself.” (Prayer of Augustine, 354-430) - dailyscripture.net Paperback, Kindle
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God and I: Exploring the Connections between God, Self and Ego, by Philip St. Romain, 2016 (2nd ed.) ____________ Chapter 5: The Journey to Egoic Authenticity Being authentic, then, is exercising the human spirit and its capacities for awareness, intelligence and freedom that we might come to experience our own lives more deeply, to live more faithfully to the truth as we understand it, and to act on that truth according to values that make sense to us. The false self system biases us against this kind of attentiveness, knowing and choosing. But the human spirit is not completely
corrupted by false self programming and the consequential wounds effected within. Indeed, if it were, we should have no hope of healing. Some degree of awareness, intelligence and freedom always remains, and needs to be employed in the task of becoming attentive to how the false self operates, to questioning and confronting its biases, and to choosing a better way of life.
Hardback, paperback, eBook and free preview versions.
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