YOU FOOL…

Ezekiel 18:21-28

21 “But if a wicked man turns away from all his sins which he has committed and keeps all my statutes and does what is lawful and right, he shall surely live; he shall not die.
22 None of the transgressions which he has committed shall be remembered against him; for the righteousness which he has done he shall live. 23 Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, says the Lord GOD, and not rather that he should turn from his way and live?
24 But when a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and commits iniquity and does the same abominable things that the wicked man does, shall he live? None of the righteous deeds which he has done shall be remembered; for the treachery of which he is guilty and the sin he has committed, he shall die.
25 “Yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ Hear now, O house of Israel: Is my way not just? Is it not your ways that are not just? 26 When a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and commits iniquity, he shall die for it; for the iniquity which he has committed he shall die.
27 Again, when a wicked man turns away from the wickedness he has committed and does what is lawful and right, he shall save his life.28 Because he considered and turned away from all the transgressions which he had committed, he shall surely live, he shall not die.

Matthew 5:20-26

20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
21 “You have heard that it was said to the men of old, ‘You shall not kill; and whoever kills shall be liable to judgment.’
22 But I say to you that every one who is angry with his brother shall be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother shall be liable to the council, and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be liable to the hell of fire.
23 So if you are offering your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you,
24 leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.
25 Make friends quickly with your accuser, while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison; 26 truly, I say to you, you will never get out till you have paid the last penny.  

MEDITATION

ISAIAH PROPHECY that it is not pleasurable for God to see the eternal death of man that emmenate from our sinful wicket ways which we continuously embark upon. It is a bridge too far to wish that the good charitable works we do prior to commiting a serious sinful act will nesseserily nulify our mortal sins! Not so, because it is not consistent with God’s desire that we hold on to the positive commandments that preclude us from commiting any reprehensible sinful acts.  

THE GOSPEL READING: Christ in no uncertain terms raise the moral bar for His followers when He teaches that being angry is equal to taking the life of another person—such a disposition, in no uncertain terms makes us “liable to judgement!” Jesus furthermore teaches that personal insults such as calling someone a “fool,” is a slanderous epitheth which imply that a person is senseless and blind. Anyone who is guilty of such a sin “shall be disposed to the hell of fire” (v22), which denotes purgatory—a post death process of purgation that the elect must pass through to wash away our unforgiven sins. Let us not fool ourselves by thinking that our bed is made in heaven just because we are believers, let us prudencially consider and appropriate the teachings of Christ and the catechesis of the Church noted below.

Catec 1697 Catechesis has to reveal in all clarity the joy and the demands of the way of Christ. Catechesis for the “newness of life” in him should be:

– a catechesis of the Holy Spirit, the interior Master of life according to Christ, a gentle guest and friend who inspires, guides, corrects, and strengthens this life;

– a catechesis of grace, for it is by grace that we are saved and again it is by grace that our works can bear fruit for eternal life;

– a catechesis of the beatitudes, for the way of Christ is summed up in the beatitudes, the only path that leads to the eternal beatitude for which the human heart longs;

– a catechesis of sin and forgiveness, for unless man acknowledges that he is a sinner he cannot know the truth about himself, which is a condition for acting justly; and without the offer of forgiveness he would not be able to bear this truth;

– a catechesis of the human virtues which causes one to grasp the beauty and attraction of right dispositions towards goodness;

– a catechesis of the Christian virtues of faith, hope, and charity, generously inspired by the example of the saints;

– a catechesis of the twofold commandment of charity set forth in the Decalogue;

– an ecclesial catechesis, for it is through the manifold exchanges of “spiritual goods” in the “communion of saints” that Christian life can grow, develop, and be communicated.

LET US PRAY: Psalms 130:1-8
Out of the depths I cry to thee, O LORD!
2 Lord, hear my voice! Let thy ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications! 3 If thou, O LORD, shouldst mark iniquities, Lord, who could stand?
4 But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared.5 I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I hope;
6 my soul waits for the LORD more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning.7 O Israel, hope in the LORD! For with the LORD there is steadfast love, and with him is plenteous redemption.8 And he will redeem Israel from all his iniquities.

Commentary. Henry R SYLVESTER Note: The daily scripture readings are taken from the Roman Missal which the Catholic Church use in the daily Celebration of the Holy Eucharist throughout the world.Some weekly readings may differ because of the celebration of local feast days.