Reflections for liturgical years 2014 (A), 2015 (B), and 2016 (C)
February 16, 2014
Liturgical readings
Ecclesiasticus 15:15-20
Psalm 119
1 Corinthians 2:6-10
Matthew 5:17-37
"Unless your holiness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees..."
To be Catholic involves more than just obeying God's commanments. It also means following the Lord's counsels in the gospels: counsels that lead to practice virtue. The counsels are more than just the basic morality. More than just obeying the command not to kill and not to commit adultery. It involves practicing not to grow angry that can lead to sin. Not to kill is a command of God in the Ten Commandments; not to grow angry that leads to sin is a counsel from Jesus. This direction to progress in the practice of virtue, is similar to the command against adultery. Jesus counsels strictly to avoid occasions where the eyes can lead to sin in one's heart.
St. Francis de Sales speaks about the counsel on anger in his book, "Introduction to the Devout Life". He writes:
'It is better simply to refuse all entry to anger - however just - rather than give access to it, however little it may be...because before you know it, if you give access, it might become as big as a stump'.
From out of the core of one's heart, all desires and actions flow towards others. The Lord Jesus and St. Francis de Sales are right in saying that letting anger enter one's hearts can lead anyone into serious sin. It must be checked by spiritual discipline and not left unchecked in its early stages.
The gospel counsel on anger and impurity involves not only obeying the Ten Commandments and the rules of the Church. It means obeying God's will from the heart. Jesus and His gospel reveals to us pathways to holiness. But following Jesus does not mean we can obey at once. It is a direction of practice and discipline one takes with the Holy Spirit as Advocate in the Church and her sacraments. If one falls from grace once in a while, we can always pick up our hearts gently, and with trust in God, begin the task of following Him again.
Scripture quotes from the Sunday readings:
Immense is the wisdom of the Lord; he is mighty in power, and all-seeing (Sirach 15)
You have commanded that your precepts be diligently kept (Psalm 119)
God has revealed this wisdom to us through the Spirit (1 Corinthians)
Unless our holiness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees we shall
not enter the kingdom of God (Matthew 5)
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