Gospel: LUKE 19:41-44
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AS Jesus drew near Jerusalem, he saw the city and wept over it, saying, “If this day you only knew what makes for peace – but now it is hidden from your eyes. For the days are coming upon you when your enemies will raise a palisade against you; they will encircle you and hem you in on all sides. They will smash you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave one stone upon another within you because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.”
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The Gospel finds Jesus weeping at the gates of Jerusalem. The city has closed its heart to him and his message, not wishing to receive him. Pope Francis notes, “This closing makes Jesus weep; the closure of the heart of his chosen one, his chosen city, his chosen people, who didn’t have time to open the gate.” Even today, “Jesus is still knocking on doors, as he knocked at the gate of the heart of Jerusalem: At the doors of his brothers, of his sisters, at our doors, at the doors of our heart, at the doors of his Church.”
Francis asks why Jesus weeps and why Jerusalem would not receive him. He asserts that the city had grown too self-confident and was “frightened by the gratuitousness of the Lord’s visit; she was certain about the things she could manage.” Francis notes that this same attitude is seen among overconfident and close-minded Christians today, those who believe they have all the answers.
When Jesus visits, we must be ready for surprises and genuine conversion, for authentic change and renewal in our own lives and in the Church.
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SOURCE: “365 Days with the Lord 2020,” ST. PAULS Philippines, 7708 St. Paul Rd., SAV, Makati City (Phils.); Tel.: 895-9701; Fax 895-7328; E-mail: [email protected]; Website: http://www.stpauls.ph.
