If I take the wings of the dawn, if I settle at the farthest limits of the sea, Even there your hand shall guide me, and your right hand hold me fast. You have searched me and you know me, Lord.

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 23:27-32, today's readings).

Jesus said, "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You are like whitewashed tombs, which appear beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of dead men's bones and every kind of filth. Even so, on the outside you appear righteous, but inside you are filled with hypocrisy and evildoing."

Jesus condemns the scribes and Pharisees for their hypocrisy; they appear beautiful on the outside and in adorning the memorials of the righteous, whom their ancestors killed. Yet, on the inside they are filled with "dead men's bones and every kind of filth" as they mask the inner decay of immorality and sin. As Saint Paul shares the Gospel in the first reading, he conveys the spirit of love that the Father continuously pours out on us, encouraging and insisting that those who follow Christ "walk in a manner worthy of the God who calls you into his Kingdom of glory."

God, as Saint Paul gives thanks unceasingly in sharing and receiving your word—not the word of men but the word of God—I ask for the grace to do the same. The Gospel acclamation describes the divine outcome of nurturing and keeping the word immanent, of persisting in prayer as Saint Monica did: "Whoever keeps the word of Christ, the love of God is truly perfected in him." The words of Christ to the Pharisees—"inside you are filled with hypocrisy and evildoing"—penetrate deep within to help me recognize when I lose sight of the word and turn away from you. Yet, Lord, in your goodness, even there you attend to me, and the psalmist's prayer is mine as I say: "Even there your hand shall guide me, and your right hand hold me fast." Saint Monica, pray for us!

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

O LORD, you have probed me and you know me; you know when I sit and when I stand; you understand my thoughts from afar. My journeys and my rest you scrutinize, with all my ways you are familiar. You have searched me and you know me, Lord.

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 23:23-26, today's readings).

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You cleanse the outside of cup and dish, but inside they are full of plunder and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee, cleanse first the inside of the cup, so that the outside also may be clean.”

Jesus addresses the scribes and Pharisees for taking advantage of their position to distort Mosaic law for self-serving purposes. In doing this, they also bring others into this dysfunction by setting an example. Jesus affirms this by calling them guides, but they are blind guides, neglecting more meaningful aspects of the law such as "judgment and mercy and fidelity." By contrast, in the first reading, Saint Paul describes the example the apostles set as they shared the Gospel with the people of Philippi: "Rather, we were gentle among you, as a nursing mother cares for her children. With such affection for you, we were determined to share with you not only the Gospel of God, but our very selves as well, so dearly beloved had you become to us." How does Christ call us to share "our very selves" in his mission of mercy?

God, you call me continuously to love as you love and to be merciful as you are merciful. Jesus commands the Pharisees to be attentive to the weightier things of the law: judgment and fidelity and mercy. You alone, Lord, are perfectly just and merciful. Give me the grace to work on this today as I strive to remain faithful to your will. The opportunity may not come again, or I may not recognize it at another time. Make clear to me today how you work with me in the way of interior sanctification, in the way of cleansing the inside of the cup so that the outside may also be clean.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Sing to the LORD a new song of praise in the assembly of the faithful. Let Israel be glad in their maker, let the children of Zion rejoice in their king. The Lord takes delight in his people.

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 23:13-22, today’s readings).

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You traverse sea and land to make one convert, and when that happens you make him a child of Gehenna twice as much as yourselves.”

Out of frustration but also out of love for the Father and those who hear him, Jesus criticizes the scribes and Pharisees for obstructing themselves and others from the path to God. “You do not enter [the Kingdom of heaven] yourselves,” Jesus says, “nor do you allow entrance to those trying to enter.” Jesus points out that these “blind guides” swear by the gold of the temple and the gift on the altar and believe that makes them obligated—all while neglecting to recognize what makes the temple and altar that make these things sacred. Jesus directs the gaze of the scribes and Pharisees beyond the constricting rituals that produce children of Gehenna to the perfect love and mercy of the Father enthroned in heaven and incarnate in his Son.

Father in heaven, redirect my gaze to you when I get caught up in hierarchies and orders of things that end up only keeping me from you. Let me hear the invitation to stay close to your Son, as I hear in the Gospel acclamation: “My sheep hear my voice, says the Lord; I know them, and they follow me.” As Jesus says, one is not obligated to or by the gold of the temple or the gift on the altar but by you who make all that is sacred. Give me the grace, Lord, to look to you and you alone and not what surrounds you, to go to you where I find you truly present—body and blood, soul and divinity—in the Eucharist.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

I am the way, the truth and the life, says the Lord; no one comes to the Father, except through me.

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Lk 13:22-30, today's readings).

"And people will come from the east and the west and from the north and the south and will recline at table in the kingdom of God. For behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last."

As Jesus passes through towns and villages, someone asks him, "Lord, will only a few people be saved?" He answers them, "Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter but will not be strong enough." Jesus tells a parable where people knock on the door of the master's house and say to him, "Lord, open the door for us." He will say to them, Jesus tells the people, "I do not know where you are from. Depart from me, all you evildoers!" If we are not strong enough, and we are not strong enough, Jesus supplies our strength even as he disciplines through trials. As Saint Paul says, "All discipline seems a cause not for joy but for pain, yet later it brings the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who are trained by it."

Father in heaven, even as I live in the midst of your discipline, I struggle to understand how and why it is necessary. Give me the grace to accept that any discipline I experience is a means of sanctifying me for the sake of your glory. When I discern your will and yet resist carrying it out, strengthen me to move forward not with earthly sight but with the sight of faith in your love and mercy. "I am the way, the truth and the life, says the Lord," the Gospel acclamation says, "no one comes to the Father, except through me." Make straight my path, Lord!

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD, his God, Who made heaven and earth, the sea and all that is in them. Praise the Lord, my soul!

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 22:34-40, today's readings).

When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, and one of them, a scholar of the law, tested him by asking, "Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?" He said to him, "You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments."

The scholar who approaches Jesus does not ask out of a genuine desire but seeks to trap Jesus. Matthew tells us that the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, so the scholar goes to Jesus from a place of competitiveness and pride. Jesus answers with the Shema, a Jewish declaration of faith that is recited in the morning and evening. By responding this way, Jesus affirms the covenant between God and the Jewish people and their devotion to him. Jesus adds the commandment to love one's neighbor as oneself, and the two commandments are inseparable. In his genuine response to the scholar's test, Jesus is demonstrating just that: a loving relationship with God and with his neighbor.

Father in heaven, let me take to heart today's Gospel. Help me see what Jesus models as he responds to the scholar's insincerity. He doesn't criticize him for attempting to trick him but instead gives him what he asks for and adds even more. As I meet a similar tone in others, give me the grace to respond to them in the same way—sincerely and generously—meeting them where they are and bringing your grace to the interaction. Help me also, Lord, recognize when I am insincere with you and with others. "Teach me your paths, my God, guide me in your truth." Mary, Queen assumed into heaven, pray for us!

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

"The servants went out into the streets
and gathered all they found, bad and good alike,
and the hall was filled with guests.
But when the king came in to meet the guests
he saw a man there not dressed in a wedding garment.
He said to him, ‘My friend, how is it
that you came in here without a wedding garment?’
But he was reduced to silence.
Then the king said to his attendants, ‘Bind his hands and feet,
and cast him into the darkness outside,
where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.’
Many are invited, but few are chosen.”

"'What if I wish to give this last one the same as you? Or am I not free to do as I wish with my own money? Are you envious because I am generous?' Thus, the last will be first, and the first will be last."

I will hear what God proclaims; the LORD—for he proclaims peace to his people, and to his faithful ones, and to those who put in him their hope. The Lord speaks of peace to his people.

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 19:23-30, today's readings).

When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and said, “Who then can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said, “For men this is impossible, but for God all things are possible.” Then Peter said to him in reply, “We have given up everything and followed you. What will there be for us?”

On hearing that it would be easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than to enter the kingdom of God, the disciples ask Jesus this question. Peter recognizes the gravity of discipleship and asks what that will lead to for them. Jesus tells him that they will see the Son of Man seated on his throne of glory and that they will sit on twelve thrones as judges of Israel. Jesus says of everyone who has given up material possessions of this world "will receive a hundred times more, and will inherit eternal life." And he warns them, "But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.” What single possession or all possessions combined is worth more than the inheritance of eternal life as adopted sons and daughters of the Father?

God, help me call to mind throughout the day the response of Jesus when the disciples ask him who can be saved. He simply says, For men this is impossible, but for God all things are possible." With you, Lord, all things are possible. The difficulty of giving up possessions or giving up anything that prevents me from entering your kingdom is impossible for me but possible for you. Everyone, Jesus says, who has given up worldly possessions for the sake of his name, will inherit eternal life. The first will be last, and the last will be first. If Jesus makes this great good possible, then smaller gifts in this life that lead to him, surely will be given even before we ask. Give me the grace, Lord, to understand the promise of eternal life made possible through Jesus so that by his poverty I might become rich.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

The LORD heard my cry. He drew me out of the pit of destruction, out of the mud of the swamp; he set my feet upon a crag; he made firm my steps. Lord, come to my aid!

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Lk 12:49-53, today's readings).

Jesus said to his disciples: "I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing! There is a baptism with which I must be baptized, and how great is my anguish until it is accomplished! Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division."

Jesus tells the disciples that he comes to bring fire to the earth through his baptism of purification. He makes clear that his message will lead to division, even among families, as some accept it but others reject it. Similarly, in the first reading, the prophet Jeremiah faces opposition as he proclaims the truth about Jerusalem's coming destruction. He is put in prison by those who view his message as demoralizing. Both readings reveal the conflict that arises from the truth. There are real challenges and divisions that believers encounter when standing up for God's word, but there is also steadfast hope for deliverance amid conflict and adversity.

God, what is the unity and hope you bring to believers even as they experience division and trial? Let the psalmist's prayer be mine. You come to the aid of those who wait patiently for you and you stoop toward them to hear and deliver them. "And he put a new song into my mouth, a hymn to our God. Many shall look on in awe and trust in the LORD." You draw me out of all that would mire me and keep me from you, setting my feet on solid ground. Give me the grace, Lord, to endure opposition and adversity as I listen for your voice and persevere in running the race that lies before me. Lord, come to my aid!

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

The queen takes her place at your right hand in gold of Ophir. The queen stands at your right hand, arrayed in gold.

When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.”

Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, says, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.” She cries out in a loud voice before Mary and before God as a prophet might cry out or as one so full of conviction that it was impossible not to cry out. Elizabeth is divinely inspired to express what has become contained in the Hail Mary, prayed countless billions of times generation after generation. And what did she say that resounds over the millennia? “Blessed is the fruit of your womb.” Because Elizabeth was divinely inspired to say these words as was Mary in proclaiming the Magnificat, the depth and breadth of what they express continue to invite us into the beauty and mystery of the incarnation, the resurrection of Jesus, and Mary's assumption, body and soul, into heaven.

God, thank you for what the Gospel reveals about Mary and Elizabeth’s greeting to each other. They each express a depth of faith that goes beyond what is knowable in the natural world. Elizabeth proclaimed Mary as the Mother of God before Jesus’ birth, and Mary praised God for remembering his promise of mercy. God, help me recognize Mary’s role as an instrument of mercy, both in life and after her assumption. She proclaimed the greatness of the Lord and his holy name: “for he has remembered his promise of mercy, the promise he made to our fathers.” Mary, Queen of Heaven, pray for us!

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.