Texts taken from the “On Your Word” Daily Missal, November-December 2023

31st Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)
3rd week of the Psalter

FIRST READING

From the book of the prophet Malachi (Mal 1:14b – 2:2b, 8-10)
I am a great king, says the Lord of hosts, and my name is feared among the nations. And now, priests, this warning is for you. If you do not listen and do not take it to heart to give glory to my name, says the Lord of hosts, I will send a curse upon you. But you have turned aside from the way and have caused many to stumble by your teaching; you have destroyed the covenant of Levi, says the Lord of hosts. Therefore I have made you despised and abject before all the people, because you have not followed my ways and have shown partiality in your teaching. Have we not all one father? Has not one God created us? Why then do we act treacherously against one another, profaning the covenant of our fathers? - The word of God.

Reflection on the first reading

When a priest acts badly, the negative repercussions necessarily fall on the people of God, who naturally trust their priest. The holy Curé of Ars had a keen sense of this responsibility and paid close attention to avoiding giving scandal to his people, even in the smallest things. Conversely, when a priest is holy, the people too are sanctified and uplifted, because they see in their shepherd an example of what they themselves should do, since the one who leads is the first to obey God. People know how to bear with their shepherd, knowing that he too is a human being, but what they cannot tolerate is inconsistency. So priests should make sure to be priests. Nothing else is asked of them. Put simply, this is also God's warning, conveyed through the voice of the prophet Malachi to the priests of his time. The Catholic writer Domenico Giuliotti stated: “Essential qualities for apostles, if they are to be followed by the multitudes: poverty, steadfastness, simplicity, sacrifice.” We all need this kind of priest, and we should ask for them through our prayer.

SECOND READING

From the first letter of Saint Paul the Apostle to the Thessalonians (1 Thes 2:7b-9, 13)
Brothers and sisters, we were gentle among you, as a nursing mother cares for her children. With such affection for you, we were determined to share with you not only the Gospel of God but our very selves, because you had become dear to us. For you remember, brothers and sisters, our hard work and toil: working night and day so as not to burden any of you, we proclaimed the Gospel of God to you. For this reason we too give thanks to God unceasingly, because, in receiving the word of God that you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word but, as it truly is, the word of God, which is at work in you who believe. - The word of God. 

Reflection on the second reading

The whole secret of success lies in this: accepting the word of God not as a human word, but as the word of God. It has an effectiveness we would not expect… It may happen that, in preaching or commenting on the Gospel, we priests complain about this or that, denounce situations that are not right, and so on. Such words often remain fruitless and move no one. Paul proclaims the Gospel with the simple truth it contains: he tells what Peter and the other apostles did, repeats the parable of the Good Samaritan, says that Jesus suffered for our sins, that he rose from the dead and that therefore, being now alive, he gives meaning to all our sufferings and actions. Very simple things, repeated again and again. And it was these words that built up, established and created Christianity in the world, which until then had been pagan. We must not invent all kinds of stories or add many things. Let us preach the Gospel just as it is, “sine glossa”, as Saint Francis of Assisi said, that is, “literally,” without many unnecessary circumlocutions.

GOSPEL OF THE DAY

From the Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 23:1-12)
At that time, Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples, saying: «The scribes and the Pharisees have taken their seat on the chair of Moses. Therefore, do and observe everything they tell you, but do not follow their example, because they preach but they do not practice. They tie up heavy burdens hard to bear and lay them on people's shoulders, but they will not lift a finger to move them. They do all their works to be seen by people: they widen their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels; they love places of honor at banquets, seats of honor in synagogues, greetings in marketplaces, and being called “Rabbi” by people. As for you, do not be called “Rabbi,” because you have one teacher, and you are all brothers. And call no one on earth your “father,” because you have one Father, who is in heaven. Nor are you to be called “guides,” because you have one guide, the Christ. The greatest among you must be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, but whoever humbles himself will be exalted». - The word of the Lord.

Reflection on the Gospel of the day

The Church is constituted from above; it is not an invention of modern democracies. No: we receive it as God has shown it to us. There is only one Head of this mystical body, God, specifically Jesus, who is the Judge and the living Word over all things. Therefore, there are not many guides and many fathers, but one Father and one teacher, Christ. If we call the priest or the Franciscan friar “father,” we are not making a mistake: we simply recognize in that person the one who represents to us the one God and the one teacher. But he only represents him and makes him present; he certainly does not take his place. In this way, everyone feels like children and students, even the learned and great scholars in the Church. What a beautiful family the Church is, then! Everyone, without distinction, recognizes themselves as children of one Father and listeners to one Teacher. This makes us brothers and sisters to one another, without anyone claiming the right to dictate laws to another. If we live this profound unity, we will circulate the life-giving sap of the Holy Spirit throughout the Body and will truly be united with one another. In the end, the Church is already a foretaste of Paradise, the true kingdom of divine love, where each person prefers the good of the other to their own.