In the
Gospel the last couple of days Jesus has been angry, saying, "Woe
to you," and
calling the Pharisees hypocrites. The
harshness of His words reveals how serious it is to be a hypocrite. (Matthew 23:27-32)
Until living
a virtuous life becomes habitual, we should all worry about being hypocrites.
It means having self-knowledge and requires us to be on our toes. We must be
careful that we don't start slipping into doing what seems and looks good,
instead of being good.
As I reflected
on the words “Woe to you” today, I recalled some childhood memories. Mom used to have a “Woe to you” expression of
her own; “Wait until your father gets home!”
Just the threat of having to face Dad (who was the kindest, gentlest man
I’ve ever known) was enough to make me realize the seriousness of my offense. And there was no getting out of it. There was always some sort of punishment when
I did face Dad, but it was always fair, just, and merciful. I like to think I always came out of my
punishments wiser and stronger.
Our inner
attitude and our prayer should be inspired by Psalm 139. “Where can I go from your
spirit? From your presence where can I flee. If I go up to the heavens, you are
there; if I sink to the nether world, you are present there.” There’s no escaping the watchful
eyes of God. So it’s better to set an
example of our Christian beliefs than to be made an example of what happens
when we don’t practice virtue.
Virtue can
be accomplished only with God's grace and acceptance of the means He provides. So we should take what He has freely offered:
His Sacred Word, His Precious Body and Blood, His Divine Mercy and Forgiveness,
and all of the Sacraments. May this
grace help us be authentic followers of Christ, the perfect example of virtue.
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