Intro to the day: “Always remember to love your neighbor; always prefer the one who tries your patience, who tests your virtue, because with her you can always merit: suffering is Love; the Law is Love.” –Blessed Mary of Jesus Crucified
Today is Tuesday of the Twenty-first Week of Ordinary Time. We are praying for the faculty, staff, and families of Catholic schools of Fiat Classical Academy in Aurora, IN.
In the Gospel, Jesus tells us not to keep up exterior appearances while neglecting our spiritual well-being.
Daily Psalm: Psalm 24
Gospel: Matthew 23:23-26
Saint of the Day: Melchizedek the Patriarch
Melchizedek the Patriarch is a Biblical figure whose background is shrouded in mystery, but is an important “type”, or prefigurement, of Christ. Melchizedek was King of Salem, which means “peace”; his name means “King of righteousness” and appears in Genesis 14:18–20, which says:
Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought out bread and wine. He was a priest of God Most High. He blessed Abram with these words: “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, the creator of heaven and earth; And blessed be God Most High, who delivered your foes into your hand.” Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.”
This offering of bread and wine is mentioned in Eucharistic Prayer I and has the unique role of being the only non-Levitical priest of the Old Testament. The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains:
“Everything that the priesthood of the Old Covenant prefigured finds its fulfillment in Christ Jesus, the "one mediator between God and men." The Christian tradition considers Melchizedek, "priest of God Most High," as a prefiguration of the priesthood of Christ, the unique "high priest after the order of Melchizedek"; "holy, blameless, unstained," "by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are sanctified," that is, by the unique sacrifice of the cross.” (CCC 1544)
Reflection: Jesus continues in the Gospel today to seemingly go after the Scribes and Pharisees. He does all things in love, so why this harsh treatment? Well, the Scribes and Pharisees know the letter of the law. They interpret it for the people. It is not enough, however, to know about the laws of God. What the Lord wants is for us to know Him and be known by Him. This is really easily translatable in the classroom. We can get caught up, each and every day, building knowledge through skill acquisition and facts. We learn a lot of stuff. In our schools, though, this learning needs to lead to Wisdom, to uncovering the truth of ourselves and the truth of the God, Who loves us into existence. This is particularly important in our Theology and Religion classes. The purpose of catechetical instruction is to lead to a deeper relationship with God. Sure, we need to know Him to love Him and love Him to serve Him. But the end is service. Service of God in others. The students in our Catholic schools, the children in our homes and in our care, should know all about the Lord and His love for them. More importantly, they should be provided each and every opportunity to fall in love with Him, and be reminded that the laws, the rules, the knowledge is all meant to fill us from the inside, inspiring us to serve others.
Let’s reflect today just a little on the times that we check off the boxes of our devotions, like in the Gospel, just giving to give. Let’s ask the Lord to help us be more aware of the times we can show patience, justice, mercy in ways that will help others around us see the faith coming out from inside our hearts.
Intentions for the community:
We continue to pray for all of our partner schools, dioceses, and for our generous benefactors, asking for God’s guidance through the intercession of Our Lady and Queen as we pray.
To add intentions, get more resources and support, or if you would like to make a donation to support this podcast, visit us at missiondrivencatholic.com.
