Homily for Tuesday in the Twenty-first Week of Ordinary Time (Feast of Saint Rose of Lima), delivered in Our Lady Star of the Sea Church, Gladstone, Qld.

"To turn, brothers, to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and how we shall all be gathered round him: please do not get excited too soon or alarmed by any prediction or rumour or any letter claiming to come from us, implying that the Day of the Lord has already arrived. Never let anyone deceive you in this way. Through the Good News that we brought God called you to this so that you should share the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Stand firm, then, brothers, and keep the traditions that we taught you, whether by word of mouth or by letter. May our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father who has given us his love and, through his grace, such inexhaustible comfort and such sure hope, comfort you and strengthen you in everything good that you do or say." (cf. 2 Thes 2:1-17).

"The Lord comes to judge the earth." (cf. Ps 96).

"The word of God is living and active: it probes the thoughts and motives of our heart." (Heb 4:12).

"Jesus said: ‘Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You who pay your tithe of mint and dill and cumin and have neglected the weightier matters of the Law – justice, mercy, good faith! These you should have practised, without neglecting the others. You blind guides! Straining out gnats and swallowing camels! Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You who clean the outside of cup and dish and leave the inside full of extortion and intemperance. Blind Pharisee! Clean the inside of cup and dish first so that the outside may become clean as well.’" (Mt 23:23-26).

Artwork: "Christ and Mary Magdalene in the House of Simon the Pharisee" by Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo, (1752).