The school of humility

Lk 17:7-10

At that time the Lord said, ‘Which of you, with a servant ploughing or minding sheep, would say to him when he returned from the fields, “Come and have your meal at once”? Would he not be more likely to say, “Get my supper ready; fasten your belt and wait on me while I eat and drink. You yourself can eat and drink afterwards”? Must he be grateful to the servant for doing what he was told? So with you: when you have done all you have been told to do, say, “We are useless servants: we have done no more than our duty”.

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“SERVE THE TRUTH”

“We must always serve the truth with complete clarity and love. The truth itself will overcome the lie.” (Based on an Inner Word.)

It is the truth that will overcome the lie. We know it comes from God and is God Himself. “Every one who is of the truth hears my voice,” (John 18:37) the Lord tells us. However, even when the Truth—in the person of Jesus—walked on this earth and made Himself present in everything He did, not everyone was willing to receive and serve Him. Too many were entangled in their own lives, caught up in confusion and lies, and refused to allow themselves to be led into a new life in Christ.

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The Temple of God

Jn 2:13-22

When the time of the Jewish Passover was near Jesus went up to Jerusalem, and in the Temple he found people selling cattle and sheep and doves, and the money changers sitting there. Making a whip out of cord, he drove them all out of the Temple, sheep and cattle as well, scattered the money changers’ coins, knocked their tables over and said to the dove sellers, ‘Take all this out of here and stop using my Father’s house as a market.’ Then his disciples remembered the words of scripture: I am eaten up with zeal for your house. The Jews intervened and said, ‘What sign can you show us that you should act like this?’ Jesus answered, ‘Destroy this Temple, and in three days I will raise it up.’ The Jews replied, ‘It has taken forty-six years to build this Temple: are you going to raise it up again in three days?’ But he was speaking of the Temple that was his body, and when Jesus rose from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the scripture and what he had said.

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The Lord weeds out the darnel

Today, we will reflect on the Gospel for the 24th Sunday after Pentecost, according to the traditional calendar.

Mt 13:24-30

‘Jesus put another parable before them, ‘The kingdom of Heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. While everybody was asleep his enemy came, sowed darnel all among the wheat, and made off. When the new wheat sprouted and ripened, then the darnel appeared as well. The owner’s labourers went to him and said, “Sir, was it not good seed that you sowed in your field? If so, where does the darnel come from?” He said to them, “Some enemy has done this.” And the labourers said, “Do you want us to go and weed it out?” But he said, “No, because when you weed out the darnel you might pull up the wheat with it. Let them both grow till the harvest; and at harvest time I shall say to the reapers: First collect the darnel and tie it in bundles to be burnt, then gather the wheat into my barn.”‘

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“TRUE FAITH DOES NOT ERR”

“Human reason is weak and may be deceived; but true faith cannot be deceived.” (Thomas à Kempis)

These words of warning from the spiritual teacher Thomas à Kempis remind us of something very essential. As much as reason is a good gift from God, it has nevertheless been affected by original sin. Among the consequences of original sin are:

  • the darkening of the intellect
  • the weakening of the will
  • the inclination toward evil
  • suffering
  • physical death.

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Exhortations and conclusion of the letter

The Apostle continues with his exhortations regarding what the Christian life should look like for the church in Colossae:

“Bear with one another and forgive one another if anyone has a complaint against another; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, as you teach and admonish one another in all wisdom, and as you sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” (Col 3:13-17)

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Errors stand in the way of unity in Christ

The emphasis I placed in my last reflection on the harmfulness of false teachings is very necessary, for even today believers are confronted with erroneous teachings that have crept into the Church. I have written and spoken about this in my publications, and I invite you to read about the teachings and practices endangering the faithful in the Church today:

https://en.elijamission.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/The-5-Wounds-of-the-Church.pdf

Heretical teachings, however, must be clearly rejected, which is usually done through the authority of the Church. The problem arises when the Church itself spreads errors or fails to correct them. Unfortunately, this is increasingly the case. Thus, the faithful must—hopefully with the help of some priests—reject these errors themselves based on the Catholic faith handed down through the ages.

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“GOD’S SHAPING LOVE”

“Those whom I love, I reprove and chasten” (Rev 3:19).

The Word teaches us that in everything He does or permits, our Father always has in mind the lofty goal toward which He wishes to lead us: into eternity, which we are to spend with Him and in His presence in infinite bliss. This goal far surpasses our earthly aspirations, and we must learn to understand it. Our perspective is usually dominated by the pursuit of fleeting happiness, and that is what we strive for, whether consciously or unconsciously. This is why such a word may sound threatening to us. However, we have our lack of understanding and our emotions to blame for this because they are often still too strongly bound to the earthly dimension of life.

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