Tuesday of the Twenty-fifth Week in Ordinary Time
Reading 1
Proverbs 21:1-6, 10-13
Like a stream is the king’s heart in the hand of the LORD;
wherever it pleases him, he directs it.
All the ways of a man may be right in his own eyes,
but it is the LORD who proves hearts.
To do what is right and just
is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice.
Haughty eyes and a proud heart–
the tillage of the wicked is sin.
The plans of the diligent are sure of profit,
but all rash haste leads certainly to poverty.
Whoever makes a fortune by a lying tongue
is chasing a bubble over deadly snares.
The soul of the wicked man desires evil;
his neighbor finds no pity in his eyes.
When the arrogant man is punished, the simple are the wiser;
when the wise man is instructed, he gains knowledge.
The just man appraises the house of the wicked:
there is one who brings down the wicked to ruin.
He who shuts his ear to the cry of the poor
will himself also call and not be heard.
Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 119:1, 27, 30, 34, 35, 44
R. (35) Guide me, Lord, in the way of your commands.
Blessed are they whose way is blameless,
who walk in the law of the LORD.
R. Guide me, Lord, in the way of your commands.
Make me understand the way of your precepts,
and I will meditate on your wondrous deeds.
R. Guide me, Lord, in the way of your commands.
The way of truth I have chosen;
I have set your ordinances before me.
R. Guide me, Lord, in the way of your commands.
Give me discernment, that I may observe your law
and keep it with all my heart.
R. Guide me, Lord, in the way of your commands.
Lead me in the path of your commands,
for in it I delight.
R. Guide me, Lord, in the way of your commands.
And I will keep your law continually,
forever and ever.
R. Guide me, Lord, in the way of your commands.
Alleluia
Luke 11:28
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed are those who hear the word of God
and observe it.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Luke 8:19-21
The mother of Jesus and his brothers came to him
but were unable to join him because of the crowd.
He was told, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside
and they wish to see you.”
He said to them in reply, “My mother and my brothers
are those who hear the word of God and act on it.”
Meditation
Beloved in the Lord,
Blessed be our Lord, who has granted us once again the grace to read His Word and meditate on it. Since yesterday, we have begun exploring some passages from the Book of Proverbs. Today, several sayings of wisdom are presented to us, and we will meditate on one of them. God alone can determine what is truly right, because He knows the intentions of the heart and does not judge only by outward appearances.
A person’s ways always seem right to him
As this text clearly tells us, we are generally very inclined to deceive ourselves and justify ourselves before our own conscience. We tend to excuse our wrong actions and find justifications for them. If we lie, we tell ourselves that there was a reason that prevented us from doing otherwise. If we hurt someone, we claim that we did not mean to, or that it was because the other person did this or that. We are therefore very indulgent toward ourselves and often consider ourselves more righteous than we really are.
Even the good we do is not always truly good
God, who sees the heart, knows that our good deeds are often not truly good in their motivations. Sometimes we give simply to get rid of what we have in excess. We say that we want to tell the truth, but in reality, we sometimes seek to hurt the other person with our words. We claim to make a “fair” distribution, while deep down, we want to ignore or minimize the needs of a particular person. Very often, beneath the appearance of goodness, our intentions are not entirely pure.
Our opinion of ourselves is not always God’s opinion
God, however, sees much deeper: He sees the heart. He knows our deepest intentions and knows what truly lives within us. He sees the anger, envy, resentment, pride, lies, or refusal that sometimes lie behind our sins. The fact that we are able to justify ourselves in our own eyes does not mean that we can deceive God. God knows perfectly well what we carry in our hearts.
Let God examine our hearts rather than examining them ourselves
How can we have a pure and righteous heart? We must allow God to examine it. Let us come before Him and ask Him to search our hearts. Let us ask Him to reveal the truth about ourselves and the depths of our hearts, so that we may ask Him to purify what needs to be purified and preserve what is good. Instead of spending hours justifying ourselves and thereby avoiding conversion, let us learn to examine ourselves in the light of God’s truth.
Deceiving ourselves means refusing to be converted
Conversion requires truth. And the truth is God Himself. If we truly want to be converted, we must learn to be truthful with ourselves and with God. By accepting that God weighs our hearts, we can truly experience metanoia, that is, a profound transformation and a genuine change of heart. We cannot improve what we refuse to acknowledge. God transforms who we truly are, not who we imagine ourselves to be.
Let us therefore look within ourselves: In what circumstances do we deceive ourselves? Do we really take the time to allow the Lord to examine our hearts and reveal to us who we truly are?
Let us pray
Lord, give us the grace to have righteous hearts, even in our deepest intentions.
Intercession
We pray for all political leaders: grant them the grace to have upright hearts. Mother Mary, pray for us.
Spiritual Exercise
Today, let us try to work not only on our actions but also on our intentions, so that they may always be purified and aligned with the Word and the will of God.
Flora KAMTA
Community of the Disciples of the Living Christ
