Homily: Feast of St. Monica
Feast of St. Monica (Mt. 23:23-26)
One sin that annoyed Jesus was the sin of hypocrisy. The root of the word hypocrisy comes from the Greek word that means actor. An actor of course plays a role. At times they may feel like they agree with the values of the person they play on stage. At other times they do not.
The Scribes and Pharisees were very religious people. There is nothing wrong with trying to keep God’s law. Many of the religious leaders were sincerely trying to cooperate with God and were also trying to lead others to a moral way of life.
But there were also those who had lost their way. They were not really living the life that they were asking others to live. In other words, they were putting on an act.
The problem was that their moral failures did not cause them to become humble people who could empathize with those that were struggling to live good lives. Instead, they doubled down asking people to be harder on themselves.
So often that is the case in the world we live in. Leaders get caught in a lie and instead of saying they are sorry they lie some more to protect their reputation. In the end they damage not only themselves but the organization or movement they represent.
We have found this to be true in church leadership in the last few decades. When church leaders were faced with scandal. The first temptation was to deny anything was wrong. This led to more damage to Christianity than would have been done than if there would have been appropriate apologies.
Reflection Questions:
1. Have I ever demanded too much from someone else? How long did it take to realize this?
2. Is everyone a hypocrite who follows Jesus? Why or why not?
Dear Parishioners,
Rember that this Saturday night we will be having an outdoor movie at dusk in our church parking lot. We will be showing the movie entitled Migrant. Please bring your own chair and enjoy the free show. This activity is sponsored by our Social Committee.
May our Lady of Queen of Heaven pray for us,
Fr. Mark