Daily Gospel Reflection for October 16, 2014

Today's Gospel: Luke 11:47-54

Stern words from our Lord today! Jesus speaks to the scribes and Pharisees, and he doesn’t have anything nice to say. Here you are, you who are supposed to be leading people to God, but you’re just another in a long of killers. God sends a prophet to correct you, and you murder him because you don’t like what he has to say.

So easy to pat ourselves on the back. “Yeah, Jesus! You tell it!” Those people over there are the Pharisees, and I’m the innocent lamb of your flock. They’re the religious hypocrites, I’m the sweet little soul who loves you and listens to you.

Am I? We who have heard the Gospel have a grave duty. We who have the sacraments, the Mass, perhaps the running of a parish committee or even a whole parish, we are in grave danger. The responsibility we bear presses like granite. The weight of those souls perishing for lack of Our Lord is heavy.

These rebukes are not my enemy getting his comeuppance. No. They are a warning for me.

Ponder:

Examine your life. Who are the souls who have been put in your care? Children? Friends? Neighbors? Who is counting on you to show them how to be a Christian? Who is counting on you to lead them into a relationship with Christ?

Pray:

Lord, I’m a frail little version of what ought to be a Christian. You know how often I fall short of your perfection, how often my sin walls myself and others from knowing You. I pray that you will guard me against evil, and rescue me when my failure puts souls in danger. Jesus, I trust in You. Amen.

Copyright 2014 Jennifer Fitz