A reading from the Second Letter of St. Paul to Thessalonians
3:6-10, 16-18
We instruct you, brothers and sisters,
in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
to shun any brother
who walks in a disorderly way
and not according to the tradition they received from us.
For you know how one must imitate us.
For we did not act in a disorderly way among you,
nor did we eat food received free from anyone.
On the contrary, in toil and drudgery, night and day we worked,
so as not to burden any of you.
Not that we do not have the right.
Rather, we wanted to present ourselves as a model for you,
so that you might imitate us.
In fact, when we were with you, we instructed you that
if anyone was unwilling to work, neither should that one eat.
May the Lord of peace himself
give you peace at all times and in every way.
The Lord be with all of you.
This greeting is in my own hand, Paul?s.
This is the sign in every letter; this is how I write.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with all of you.
From the Gospel according to Matthew
23:27-32
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.
?Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites.
You build the tombs of the prophets
and adorn the memorials of the righteous,
and you say, ?If we had lived
in the days of our ancestors,
we would not have joined them
in shedding the prophets? blood.?
Thus you bear witness against yourselves
that you are the children of those
who murdered the prophets;
now fill up what your ancestors measured out!?
The hearts of these people, of this small group, had hardened so much over time that it was impossible for them to listen to the Lord?s voice. And from being sinners, they had slipped further and become corrupt. It is very difficult for a corrupt person to change his ways. A sinner can, because the Lord is merciful and awaits us all. But the corrupt are set in their ways, and these people were corrupt. And that is why they justify themselves: because Jesus, with His simplicity, yet with the power of God, annoyed them. (?) They rejected the Lord?s love, and this rejection meant they were on a path that was not that of the dialectic of freedom offered by the Lord, but that of the logic of necessity, where there is no place for the Lord. In the dialectic of freedom there is the good Lord, who loves us, who loves us a great deal! Instead, in the logic of necessity there is no place for God: one must do, this, one must do that, one must? They have become mere creatures of habit. Men of good manners and bad habits. Jesus calls them ?whited sepulchres?. (?) Those who justify themselves understand neither mercy nor compassion. Instead, those people who loved Jesus so much needed mercy and compassion, so they went to the Lord to ask for them. (Pope Francis, Homily, Holy Mass for Italian Parliamentarians, 27 March 2014)
Gospel and Word of the Day – 26 August 2026 –
A reading from the Second Letter of St. Paul to Thessalonians
3:6-10, 16-18
We instruct you, brothers and sisters,
in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
to shun any brother
who walks in a disorderly way
and not according to the tradition they received from us.
For you know how one must imitate us.
For we did not act in a disorderly way among you,
nor did we eat food received free from anyone.
On the contrary, in toil and drudgery, night and day we worked,
so as not to burden any of you.
Not that we do not have the right.
Rather, we wanted to present ourselves as a model for you,
so that you might imitate us.
In fact, when we were with you, we instructed you that
if anyone was unwilling to work, neither should that one eat.
May the Lord of peace himself
give you peace at all times and in every way.
The Lord be with all of you.
This greeting is in my own hand, Paul?s.
This is the sign in every letter; this is how I write.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with all of you.
From the Gospel according to Matthew
23:27-32
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.
?Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites.
You build the tombs of the prophets
and adorn the memorials of the righteous,
and you say, ?If we had lived
in the days of our ancestors,
we would not have joined them
in shedding the prophets? blood.?
Thus you bear witness against yourselves
that you are the children of those
who murdered the prophets;
now fill up what your ancestors measured out!?
The hearts of these people, of this small group, had hardened so much over time that it was impossible for them to listen to the Lord?s voice. And from being sinners, they had slipped further and become corrupt. It is very difficult for a corrupt person to change his ways. A sinner can, because the Lord is merciful and awaits us all. But the corrupt are set in their ways, and these people were corrupt. And that is why they justify themselves: because Jesus, with His simplicity, yet with the power of God, annoyed them. (?) They rejected the Lord?s love, and this rejection meant they were on a path that was not that of the dialectic of freedom offered by the Lord, but that of the logic of necessity, where there is no place for the Lord. In the dialectic of freedom there is the good Lord, who loves us, who loves us a great deal! Instead, in the logic of necessity there is no place for God: one must do, this, one must do that, one must? They have become mere creatures of habit. Men of good manners and bad habits. Jesus calls them ?whited sepulchres?. (?) Those who justify themselves understand neither mercy nor compassion. Instead, those people who loved Jesus so much needed mercy and compassion, so they went to the Lord to ask for them. (Pope Francis, Homily, Holy Mass for Italian Parliamentarians, 27 March 2014)
A reading from the Second Letter of St. Paul to Thessalonians
3:6-10, 16-18
We instruct you, brothers and sisters,
in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
to shun any brother
who walks in a disorderly way
and not according to the tradition they received from us.
For you know how one must imitate us.
For we did not act in a disorderly way among you,
nor did we eat food received free from anyone.
On the contrary, in toil and drudgery, night and day we worked,
so as not to burden any of you.
Not that we do not have the right.
Rather, we wanted to present ourselves as a model for you,
so that you might imitate us.
In fact, when we were with you, we instructed you that
if anyone was unwilling to work, neither should that one eat.
May the Lord of peace himself
give you peace at all times and in every way.
The Lord be with all of you.
This greeting is in my own hand, Paul?s.
This is the sign in every letter; this is how I write.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with all of you.
From the Gospel according to Matthew
23:27-32
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.
?Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites.
You build the tombs of the prophets
and adorn the memorials of the righteous,
and you say, ?If we had lived
in the days of our ancestors,
we would not have joined them
in shedding the prophets? blood.?
Thus you bear witness against yourselves
that you are the children of those
who murdered the prophets;
now fill up what your ancestors measured out!?
The hearts of these people, of this small group, had hardened so much over time that it was impossible for them to listen to the Lord?s voice. And from being sinners, they had slipped further and become corrupt. It is very difficult for a corrupt person to change his ways. A sinner can, because the Lord is merciful and awaits us all. But the corrupt are set in their ways, and these people were corrupt. And that is why they justify themselves: because Jesus, with His simplicity, yet with the power of God, annoyed them. (?) They rejected the Lord?s love, and this rejection meant they were on a path that was not that of the dialectic of freedom offered by the Lord, but that of the logic of necessity, where there is no place for the Lord. In the dialectic of freedom there is the good Lord, who loves us, who loves us a great deal! Instead, in the logic of necessity there is no place for God: one must do, this, one must do that, one must? They have become mere creatures of habit. Men of good manners and bad habits. Jesus calls them ?whited sepulchres?. (?) Those who justify themselves understand neither mercy nor compassion. Instead, those people who loved Jesus so much needed mercy and compassion, so they went to the Lord to ask for them. (Pope Francis, Homily, Holy Mass for Italian Parliamentarians, 27 March 2014)