2023

31st Sunday of Year A

TOP-RATEDPAPAL HOMILIESFR. TONY

31st Sunday of Year A

How must the authorities of the people of Israel and of the Christian people behave? This question is answered by the liturgical texts. In the Gospel and in the First Reading we are warned about the behavior that they should not have, “… so I in my turn have made you contemptible and vile to the whole people, for not having kept my ways and for being partial in applying the law” (Ml 2:9); “The scribes and the Pharisees occupy the chair of Moses… Do not be guided by what they do, since they do not practice what they preach” (Mt 23:2-3). In the Second Reading the figure of Saint Paul is presented as a model or guide to the Christian community: “Instead we lived unassumingly among you. Like a mother feeding and looking after her children” (1Th 2:7)..

DOCTRINAL MESSAGES

31st Sunday of Year A

The existence of authority is not justified, in the Church of Christ, on sociological or political grounds, though these reasons are certainly important. Rather, by the revelation of the risen Jesus Christ, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, make disciples of all nations; baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" (Mt 28:18-19). The exercise of authority actually changes according to time and place, but the origin will always be the same: Christ. The ecclesial hierarchy (the Bishop of Rome, the other bishops, priests, deacons) that exercises authority in the Church is not a human invention, but one of God's providential plans.

It is also necessary in order to make more effective the ministry of preaching, in the life of divine worship and in that of the spiritual guidance of the brethren, avoiding any manipulation of the Christian message and worship. It is necessary to make Christ present in the community through the sacraments, so that with Saint Augustine we can say: "When the priest baptizes, it is Christ that baptizes;" and the same goes for the other sacraments of the Church.

In the First Reading, we are warned about some of the acts of abuse committed by the priests that are responsible for worship in the temple; in the Gospel, we are told about the abuse on the part of the Pharisees, charged with educating and teaching the people. How could these instances of abuse indicated in the Gospel be translated into contemporary language? By way of example, here are some possibilities: In preaching, they frequently replace the Word of God with psychology and sociology; they give a bad witness of life to their faithful; there is some inconsistency between what they say and what they do; perhaps they are elitist, as they work with small selected groups, and they leave everything else to go its own way without religious care; they seek the praise of people and want to be considered as nice and intelligent, etc.

"The greatest among you must be your servant." A service which springs from the love for one's neighbor, and a service that is exercised from the most sincere and genuine love. This is why to love and serve must go hand in hand and complement one another: neither love without service nor service without love. Some of the concrete ways of the service of authority have already been established by the Church, others will be inspired in us by God himself throughout life, provided that the attitude of giving and service has become rooted in our priestly heart.

PASTORAL SUGGESTIONS

31st Sunday of Year A

Let us see whether we are truly convinced that authority does not indicate superiority, but divine vocation to give ourselves to others. Let us consider whether in the practice of our authority we exclude collaboration and participation, which in some way are opposed to authority, but that require and integrate it. Authority, in the Christian sense, does not create confrontation but instead creates a community; creates not distance but closeness among the faithful; it does not create fear but gives confidence instead; it does not manipulate nor does it lend itself to manipulation but instead obeys a higher order, God himself. This way of exercising authority requires a high degree of humility on our part (consciousness of our smallness) and a great, living and generous faith. On the other hand, the exercise of Christian authority is not improvised nor does it spring up naturally; rather it requires of us an ascetic effort and an assiduous commitment, until it becomes normal behavior.

The Christian faithful must be respectful of those who have been vested with authority: with the person and his way of being, his actions and decisions in the pastoral ministry. They must also accept with a supernatural spirit the teachings of such persons in the domain of Faith and morality, for they are not teaching us anything of their own but the Faith and morality of the Church. However, they must not command such respect on the grounds of their intelligence and brightness, their human leadership, etc, but because they represent Christ and make him present among us. This is why it is a great truth that one must respect oneself first, and try to be as worthy of Jesus Christ as possible, for it is he who is represented by those who exercise authority.

Evil will never cease to be evil before ourselves and before God, as much as God, in his goodness and might, is able to get the good out of the bad. God guides history, but he does not make up for our wretchedness or human smallness. The sense of providence does not diminish, but rather enhances our responsibility before God. As far as this issue is concerned, it is necessary to form the conscience of Christians to uprightness and fidelity. An upright conscience to know well the will of God; a faithful conscience to act according to his will.

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Pope Francis
Homilies

Nov 8

25 October 2020 | Saint Peter’s Square

31st Sunday of Year A

Jesus’ response once again takes up and joins two fundamental precepts, which God gave his people through Moses (cf. Dt 6:5; Lv 19:18). And thus he overcomes the snare that is laid for him in order “to test him” (Mt 22:35). His questioner, in fact, tries to draw him into the dispute among the experts of the Law regarding the hierarchy of the prescriptions. But Jesus establishes two essential principles for believers of all times; two essential principles of our life. The first is that moral and religious life cannot be reduced to an anxious and forced obedience. There are people who seek to fulfil the commandments in an anxious or forced manner, and Jesus helps us understand that moral and religious life cannot be reduced to anxious or forced obedience, but must have love as its precept. The second principle is that love must tend together and inseparably toward God and toward neighbour. This is one of the primary innovations of Jesus’ teachings, and it helps us understand that what is not expressed in love of neighbour is not true love of God; and, likewise, what is not drawn from one’s relationship with God is not true love of neighbour.

Jesus concludes his response with these words: “On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets” (v. 40). This means that all the precepts the Lord has given to his people must be related to love of God and neighbour. In fact, all the commandments serve to implement, to express that twofold indivisible love. Love for God is expressed above all in prayer, particularly in adoration. We neglect the adoration of God a great deal. We recite the prayer of thanksgiving, the supplication to ask for something…, but we neglect adoration. Adoring God is precisely the heart of prayer. And love for neighbour, which is also called fraternal charity, consists in closeness, listening, sharing, caring for others. And so often we neglect to listen to others because it is boring or because it takes up our time, or [we neglect] to accompany them, to support them in their suffering, in their trials…. But we always find the time to gossip, always! We do not have time to console the afflicted, but so much time to gossip. Be careful!

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Do Not Live Only for Appearances

5 November 2017 | Saint Peter’s Square

31st Sunday of Year A

Today’s Gospel passage (cf. Mt 23:1-12) is set in the final days of Jesus’ life, in Jerusalem; days filled with expectations and also tension. On the one hand, Jesus directs harsh criticism at the scribes and Pharisees, and on the other, he entrusts important mandates to Christians of all times, thus also to us.

He says to the crowd: “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat; so practice and observe whatever they tell you”. Meaning that they have the authority to teach what is in conformity with the Law of God. However, immediately after, Jesus adds: “but do not do ‘what they do; for they preach, but do not practice’” (vv. 2-3). Brothers and sisters, a frequent flaw of those in authority, whether civil or ecclesiastic authority, is that of demanding of others things — even righteous things — that they do not, however, put into practise in the first person. They live a double life. Jesus says: “They bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with their finger (v. 4). This attitude sets a bad example of authority, which should instead derive its primary strength precisely from setting a good example. Authority arises from a good example, so as to help others to practise what is right and proper, sustaining them in the trials that they meet on the right path. Authority is a help, but if it is wrongly exercised, it becomes oppressive; it does not allow people to grow, and creates a climate of distrust and hostility, and also leads to corruption.

Jesus openly denounces some of the negative conduct of the scribes and of some Pharisees: “they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues, and salutations in the market places” (vv. 6-7). This is a temptation that corresponds to human pride and that is not always easy to overcome. It is the attitude of living only for appearances.

Then Jesus entrusts the mandates to his disciples: “you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brethren. […] Neither be called masters, for you have one master, the Christ. He who is greatest among you shall be your servant” (vv. 8-11).

We disciples of Jesus must not seek titles of honour, of authority or supremacy. I tell you, it pains me personally to see people who, psychologically, live in pursuit of vain accolades. We disciples of Jesus must not do this, because among ourselves there must be a simple and fraternal attitude. We are all brothers and sisters and in no way must we abuse others or look down on them. No. We are all brothers and sisters. If we have received talents from the heavenly Father, we must place them at the service of our brothers and sisters, and not exploit them for our own satisfaction and personal interests. We must not consider ourselves superior to others; modesty is essential for an existence that seeks to conform to the teaching of Jesus, who is meek and humble of heart and came not to be served but to serve.

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Jesus is Our True and Only Teacher

30 October 2011

31st Sunday of Year A

In this Sunday’s Liturgy, the Apostle Paul invites us to draw near to the Gospel “not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God” (1 Thess 2:13). Thus we can accept with faith the warning that Jesus offers to our conscience, in order to conform our way of living to it. In today’s passage he rebukes the scribes and the Pharisees, who were the teachers of the community, because their own conduct was openly in conflict with the teaching they rigorously taught others. Jesus underlines that they “preach, but do not practise” (Mt 23:3); rather “they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with their finger” (Mt 23:4). Good teaching must be received but it risks being contradicted by inconsistent behaviour. Thus Jesus says: “practise and observe whatever they tell you, but not what they do” (Mt 23:3). Jesus’ attitude is exactly the opposite: he is the first to practise the commandment of love, which he teaches to everyone, and he can say the burden is light and easy because he helps us carry it (cf. Mt 11:29-30).

Thinking of teachers who oppress the freedom of others in the name of authority, St Bonaventure points out who the authentic teacher is, affirming that, “No one can teach or practise, or reach knowable truths unless the Son of God is present” (Sermo I de Tempore, Dom. XXII post Pentecosten, Opera omnia, IX, Quaracchi, 1901, 442). “Jesus sits on the cathedra of Moses… as the greater Moses, who broadens the Covenant to include all nations” (cf. Jesus of Nazareth, Doubleday, New York, 2007, p. 66).

He is our true and only Teacher! We are, therefore, called to follow the Son of God, the Word Incarnate, who expresses the truth of his teaching through his faithfulness to the will of the Father, through the gift of himself.

Bl. Antonio Rosmini writes: “The first teacher trains all the other teachers, as he also trains the same disciples themselves, because they exist only in virtue of that first tacit, but very powerful Magisterium” (Idea della Sapienza, 82, in: Introduzione alla filosofia, vol. II, Rome, 1934, 143).

Jesus also firmly condemns vanity and observes that “deeds to be seen by men” (Mt 23:5), places them at the mercy of human approval, undermining the values that found the authenticity of the person.

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