March 10, 2010 - Wednesday of the Third Week of Lent

Dt 4:1, 5-9 * Ps 147 * Mt 5:17-19  

TEACHING ABOUT THE LAW

Jesus said to his disciples,"Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter will pass from the law, until all things have taken place. Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do so will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments will be called greatest in the kingdom of heaven."

 

LAW FULFILLED

T here is no question that Jesus played it fast and loose with the law. He clearly had an agenda when he would use the occasions of the Sabbath to work cures. Or, as a colleague recently asked, "Didn't he ever heal anybody on a Tuesday?" Yet, here he proclaims that teaching and fulfilling the law, even the least commandment, is beneficial. What gives? Well, in the whole law, with all its judgments and penalties, the worst thing that could happen is that you die. Jesus died. In doing so he fulfilled the law conclusively. But his resurrection ushered in something new, beyond the law. Heaven and earth did pass away; every letter of the law was fulfilled. Now, in Christ, all things have been made new (see Revelation 21:5).
Prayer: O Lord, you have fulfilled all things with your love, and you write your law of love in our hearts. May I love others in all things and thus bring your law to perfection within me.
Action: What rule do you hold sacred in your life? What happens when somebody breaks it? Could love and mercy be a greater call?

(Taken from Between Sundays by Paul Boudreau,, published by Paulines. Visit us at www.paulines.ph or at Paulines Media Centers.)

 

Sower’s Thought: "A great spiritual help when preparing for Mass is to spend it in the company of Our Lady of Sorrows and of Jesus who carries his cross to Calvary. The Mass is the apostle's school, the apostle's way and the apostle's life." - Blessed James Alberione, Founder of the Pauline Family