Sirach 3.19-21,30-31 | Hebrews 12.18-19,22-24 | Luke 14.1,7-14

Today we begin the twenty-second week of Ordinary Time, concluding August, the month of vocations, reflecting on the vocation of catechists.

Catechesis is education in faith to grow in the experience and knowledge of God and in holiness of life. Catechesis lasts a lifetime, but there is initial formation in view of the sacraments of Baptism, Reconciliation, the Eucharist, and Confirmation.

Catechists are lay faithful who dedicate themselves to the important task of bearing witness to Christ and the Church, awakening faith through the transmission of Christian truths from one generation to the next, with fidelity and creativity.

Today the Evangelist Luke tells us about the parable of the first places at a feast and the reward in the resurrection of the righteous.

Jesus had been invited to dine at the house of one of the chief Pharisees. Noticing that the other guests chose the best places, Jesus, through a parable, encouraged humility, speaking of the honor of being invited to occupy an important place.

The feeling of superiority consists of considering others inferior. The arrogant are often embarrassed when someone truly important appears and takes their place. In contemporary society, there is no shortage of arrogant people vying for recognition among themselves. This is pathetic.

Imitating Jesus, let us cultivate humility, which pleases God, for He resists the arrogant with inflated egos.

Furthermore, Jesus took the opportunity to teach about the reward in the resurrection of the righteous for doing good to strangers in need, unable to reciprocate the good they have received.

Unfortunately, in contemporary society, good is done with the sole intention of being rewarded. There is no gratuitousness, which is essential in doing good. Jesus removed the mask of hypocrisy and, at the same time, encouraged the selfless practice of good, ensuring that retribution would come from God in the resurrection of the righteous.

"Whoever gives to the poor lends to God," said the author of Proverbs (cf. 19:17). Let us embrace Jesus' teaching and be generous to strangers in need, in the joy of the final resurrection.

The parable of the feast can also be compared to the Eucharist—the joyful supper of Christians heading toward Heaven, which has the vocation to welcome all, without distinction of person, in contrast to a society that excludes the needy.

Today, the author of the Book of Sirach speaks to us of the humble and the proud.

The humble find favor before the Lord by knowing His mysteries, glorifying the greatness of His power, working with meekness, being generous, reflecting on the words of the wise, and desiring Wisdom. 

The proud are arrogant and do not understand that they have an incurable evil and a plant of sin rooted within them.

It is worth remembering that pride is one of the seven deadly sins that must be admitted and confessed to be sacramentally forgiven. Pride can cause human ruin. Through pride, Lucifer went from being an angel of light to a demon of darkness. Through pride, Adam and Eve disobeyed God and were expelled from the Garden of Eden. Let us fight against any kind of pride within us.

Today the author of the letter to the Hebrews speaks to us of the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. 

Speaking of the ancestors of the Jews, who had approached a tangible reality—"blazing fire and darkness, gloom and tempest, the sound of the trumpet and a mighty voice" (which the listeners begged not to continue), the author compared them to Christians festively gathered before God (the Judge of all), Jesus (mediator of the new covenant), and the assembly of angels and the righteous.

The frightening tone of the first covenant (with the Jews) and the peaceful tone of the new covenant in Christ are evident. The Lord does not want the fear of men, but the "fear of God"—holy respect—which is one of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit.

It is important to understand and highlight the festive dimension of the gathering of Christians who celebrate the new covenant of love, which sacramentally and in advance unites earth with Heaven.

Let us pray for the perseverance of the catechists in our communities and for the awakening of the vocation to Catechesis among the faithful.

Local: Praia Grande - SP, Brasil

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