Luke 11: 42-46
The Lord said:
“But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and herbs of all kinds, and neglect justice and the love of God; it is these you ought to have practiced, without neglecting the others. Woe to you Pharisees! For you love to have the seat of honor in the synagogues and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces. Woe to you! For you are like unmarked graves, and people walk over them without realizing it.”
One of the lawyers answered him, “Teacher, when you say these things, you insult us too.” And he said, “Woe also to you lawyers! For you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not lift a finger to ease them.”
New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved.
Men and Women for Others
In 1973, the then-Superior General of the Society of Jesus, Fr. Pedro Arrupe, SJ, delivered his famous address, “Men and Women for Others” to alumni of Jesuit schools in Europe. Arrupe’s expression of Christ’s call to “educate for justice” has become core to the Jesuit school experience throughout the world.
Like Jesus in today’s Gospel, Arrupe did not mince words:
“Today our prime educational objective must be to form…[people] who cannot even conceive of love of God which does not include love for the least of their neighbors; [people] completely convinced that love of God which does not issue in justice for others is a farce.”
Jesus and Pedro Arrupe remind us that love and justice are the heart of Christianity. When our rituals and tithing point more to themselves or to us than to God, we’re missing the point. When we enthusiastically claim Christianity and its benefits but find ways to disregard Jesus’ actual message, we’re missing the point.
How specifically can I live as a person for and with others today?
—Katie Davis-Crowder is an Ignatian spiritual director and high school theology teacher. A proud former Jesuit Volunteer, she holds a Master of Divinity from Loyola University Chicago and serves on the board of directors at Bellarmine Jesuit Retreat House in Illinois.
Prayer
Grant me, O Lord, to see everything now with new eyes,
to discern and test the spirits
that help me read the signs of the times,
to relish the things that are yours, and to communicate them to others.
Give me the clarity of understanding that you gave Ignatius.
—Personal Prayer of Pedro Arrupe
Pray with the Pope
Pray with the monthly prayer intentions of the pope.