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Contemplating today's Gospel

Today's Gospel + homily (in 300 words)

Wednesday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time
1st Reading (Exod 3:1-6.9-12): Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian. Leading the flock across the desert, he came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There an angel of the Lord appeared to him in fire flaming out of a bush. As he looked on, he was surprised to see that the bush, though on fire, was not consumed. So Moses decided, «I must go over to look at this remarkable sight, and see why the bush is not burned».

When the Lord saw him coming over to look at it more closely, God called out to him from the bush, «Moses! Moses!». He answered, «Here I am». God said, «Come no nearer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground. I am the God of your father», he continued, «the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob. The cry of the children of Israel has reached me, and I have truly noted that the Egyptians are oppressing them. Come, now! I will send you to Pharaoh to lead my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt». But Moses said to God, «Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and lead the children of Israel out of Egypt?». He answered, «I will be with you; and this shall be your proof that it is I who has sent you: when you bring my people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this very mountain».
Responsorial Psalm: 102
R/. The Lord is kind and merciful.
Bless the Lord, o my soul; and all my being, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, o my soul, and forget not all his benefits.

He pardons all your iniquities, he heals all your ills. He redeems your life from destruction, he crowns you with kindness and compassion.

The Lord secures justice and the rights of all the oppressed. He has made known his ways to Moses, and his deeds to the children of Israel.
Versicle before the Gospel (Cf. Mt 11:25): Alleluia. Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth; you have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the Kingdom. Alleluia.
Gospel text (Mt 11:25-27): At that time Jesus exclaimed: “I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike. Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.”

“Although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike”

Fr. Raimondo M. SORGIA Mannai OP (San Domenico di Fiesole, Florencia, Italy)

Today, the Gospel offers us the opportunity to penetrate, so to speak, the structure of divine wisdom itself. Who among us does not desire to see the mysteries of this life revealed? But there are enigmas that not even the best team of researchers in the world will ever be able to detect. However, there is One before whom "nothing is hidden (...); nothing is secret" (Mk 4:22). This is the one who gives himself the name "Son of Man," for He says of himself: "All things have been handed over to me by my Father" (Mt 11:27). His human nature—through the hypostatic union—has been assumed by the Person of the Word of God: He is, in a word, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, before whom there is no darkness and through whom the night is brighter than day.

An Arabic proverb goes like this: "If on a dark night a black ant climbs a black wall, God is watching it." For God, there are no secrets or mysteries. There are mysteries for us, but not for God, before whom the past, present, and future are open and scrutinized down to the last comma.

The Lord says with pleasure today: "I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike" (Mt 11:25). Yes, for no one can claim to know these or similar hidden secrets, neither by bringing them out of obscurity by the most intense study, nor as a matter of wisdom. The little old woman with no academic experience will always know more about the profound secrets of life than the pretentious scientist who has spent years in prestigious universities. There is science that is gained with faith, simplicity, and inner poverty. Clement of Alexandria said it very well: "Night is propitious for mysteries; it is then that the soul—attentive and humble—turns inward, reflecting on its condition; it is then that it finds God."

Thoughts on Today's Gospel

  • “I am a very little soul who can only offer very little things to God.” (Saint Therese of Lisieux)

  • “It is part of the mystery of God that he acts so gently. God does not overwhelm with external power, but gives freedom” (Benedict XVI)

  • “A humble and trusting heart that enables us ‘to turn and become like children’ for it is to ‘little children’ that the Father is revealed (Cf. Mt 11:25)” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, Nº 2785)