27 August 2025: Wednesday of the 21st week of TO

1 Thess. 2:9-13; Matt. 23:27-32

Homily

The long list of Jesus' curses against the Pharisees at the end of Matthew's Gospel has been divided into three blocks in the ferial lectionary, spread over the first three days of the 21st week of Ordinary Time. (The authors of the lectionary probably thought it would be a bit hard to take all of them on the same day!

What Jesus reproaches the Pharisees for is above all their hypocrisy, that is, the discrepancy between what they are and the impression they try to give of themselves. And this reminds us of the importance of truth and simplicity in our Christian life and our monastic life. We are who we are before God, with our qualities and our faults, our abilities and our limitations, and we know that we are loved by Him as we are – and called by Him to grow continually. Whenever we are concerned about what others think of us, when we try to impress them with our qualities while hiding our limitations, we are still far from the truth and simplicity that is the essence of monastic life.

Today's first reading, taken from Paul's letter to the Thessalonians, speaks to us about the meaning of spiritual fatherhood (or motherhood).

If Paul considers himself a ‘father’ to the members of the churches he founded (or assisted), it is because he begot them through the Word of God. God alone is the Father. There is only one fatherhood: that of God. All human fatherhood or motherhood—whether physical or spiritual—is a participation in that of God.

The Father expressed Himself fully in His Son, in His Word; and it is through this Word that He created and brought forth all things. The Incarnate Word gave us new life by giving Himself to us in faith and in the sacraments.

Christ is the Father and Mother of every monastic community. According to the Rule of Benedict, the abbot is the father of the monastery, for he is the vicar of Christ. His task as father is not to beget spiritual children for himself, but to give birth to Christ in his brothers.

Similarly, when Saint Benedict, at the end of his Rule, invites us to mutual obedience, he invites us to be, each one for the other, father and mother, communicating the Word to one another, both by exhortation and by the example of our lives.

This is an enormous responsibility that we all have towards one another: to communicate life to one another or to refuse to do so.

Armand Veilleux

***

Today we celebrate the memorial of saint Monica

26 août 2025 : Mardi de la 21^ème semaine du TO

1 Thess. 2, 1-8; Matt. 23, 23-26

H O M É L I E

L'Évangile d'aujourd'hui est la suite de celui de la messe fériale d'hier. Il s’agit d’une longue liste de "malédictions" de Jésus à l'égard des Pharisiens. Il a sans doute paru aux auteurs de notre lectionnaire liturgique, qu'il était un peu trop lourd de lire en une seule fois ces "malédictions" même si cela n'aurait pas fait une lecture tellement longue. Ce que Jésus reprochait avant tout aux scribes et aux Pharisiens dans la première partie était leur hypocrisie. Dans le texte que nous venons de lire, Il continue sur le même thème, et de façon encore plus explicite. Il mentionne deux formes plus concrètes d'hypocrisie.

25 août 2025, Lundi de la 21^ème semaine

1 Th 1,1-5.8b-10: Mat 23, 13-22

H O M É L I E

           Dans l'Évangile de Matthieu, la prédication de Jésus débute avec une série de « bénédictions »; et l'un de ses derniers grands discours avant sa Passion commence par une série de « malédictions », toutes dirigées contre les docteurs de la Loi et les Pharisiens. Quand nous pensons à la grande bonté et à la miséricorde de Jésus à l'égard de toutes sortes de pécheurs, sa sévérité envers les Pharisiens peut nous surprendre.

25 August 2025, Monday of the 21st week

1 Thessalonians 1:1-5, 8b-10: Matthew 23:13-22 

Homily

         In Matthew's Gospel, Jesus' preaching begins with a series of ‘blessings’; and one of his last great discourses before his Passion begins with a series of ‘curses,’ all directed against the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees. When we think of Jesus' great kindness and mercy towards all kinds of sinners, his severity towards the Pharisees may surprise us.

26 August 2025: Tuesday of the 21st week of Ordinary Time

1 Thess. 2:1-8; Matt. 23:23-26

Homily

Today's Gospel is a continuation of yesterday's ferial Mass. It is a long list of ‘curses’ from Jesus against the Pharisees. The authors of our liturgical lectionary probably thought that it would be a bit too heavy to read all these ‘curses’ at once, even though it would not have been that long. What Jesus reproached above all in the first part was the hypocrisy of the scribes and Pharisees. In the text we have just read, He continues on the same theme, and in an even more explicit way. He mentions two more concrete forms of hypocrisy.

24 août 2025– 21^ème dimanche "C"

Is 66,18-21; Hé 12,5-7. 11-13; Lc 13,22-30 

H O M É L I E 

          Le poème du livre d'Isaïe, que nous avons entendu comme première lecture, est l'un des textes "universalistes" les plus surprenants de tout l'Ancien Testament. Au peuple d'Israël, convaincu d'être l'unique peuple choisi de Dieu et l’unique objet de tous les privilèges du salut, Isaïe annonce que Dieu enverra ses messagers à toutes les nations et que l'on viendra de tous les peuples pour offrir le culte à Jérusalem.