The readings and the spirit of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, whose feast is an optional memorial today, all point to the heart of God's lo...
The readings and the spirit of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, whose feast is an optional memorial today, all point to the heart of God's love. Our three key words are Righteousness, Redemption, and Revelation.
St. Paul gives us the glorious truth in the first reading: we are all sinners, but we are given Righteousness as a free gift through the grace of Jesus Christ. This righteousness isn't earned by our works—by our flawless observance of rules—but is received through faith. This truth directly confronts the hypocrisy Jesus condemns in the Gospel. The lawyers and Pharisees thought their right standing was based on their knowledge or their outward veneration of past prophets, yet they were plotting against the present prophet, Jesus! True righteousness comes from humbly accepting God's free gift, not from claiming one's own merit.
This free gift is our Redemption. The Psalm joyfully proclaims, "With the Lord there is mercy, and fullness of redemption." This is the core message of the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which St. Margaret Mary Alacoque helped spread. The image of the Sacred Heart reveals a God whose love is a furnace of mercy, one who provides complete redemption for all who call upon Him. It is a love that embraces us despite our sins, drawing us out of the "depths" mentioned in the Psalm.
Finally, the readings are a Revelation of God's plan. Jesus reveals the blindness of those who missed the truth right in front of them, those who "hindered" others from entering the kingdom of knowledge. St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, a simple nun, received revelations that made the depth of God’s redemptive love clear to the world. We are called to listen to this revelation: to trust not in our own works or cleverness, but in the overwhelming, merciful love revealed in the Sacred Heart of Jesus, our source of complete redemption and righteousness. Amen.
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