October 11,2011
religious hypocrisy
“Then the Lord said to him, ‘Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness.’” – Luke 11:39
A professor of religious education had this interesting insight about the passion of Christ: “The most terrifying act of the Passion of Christ was not the betrayal or crucifixion; it was the devil walking in the robes of the Pharisees. Jesus Christ was not murdered by the pagan or the atheist, nor the unlearned. He was killed by people who were vessels of religious knowledge.”
In one of his sermons, St. Chrysostom, one of the radical Fathers of the Church, tackled the horror of religious hypocrisy which began with the Pharisees and continues to threaten our Church today. He said, “Who is fit to be a leader in the Church?…. Imagine a person of great intellectual ability, who twisted the words of Scripture to suit his own wicked purposes. That person could make a congregation believe that good was evil, and evil good.”
Priests, the religious, and all who serve the Lord are in danger of falling into the trap of hypocrisy just as the rest of us are. Fervent prayers to the Lord, invoking the intercession of Mama Mary, and a discerning heart are needed to see the evil hiding behind what is seemingly good. Dina Pecaña (dpecana@yahoo.com)
11
REFLECTION:
“No faith unfaithful, can keep an adherent, falsely true.” (Tennyson)
Jesus, protect me from the evils of hypocrisy. Give me the grace to always know and see the truth You reveal to me.
No comments:
Post a Comment