July 31, St. Ignatius of Loyola

Sing with joy to God our help.-- Psalm 81:2

Mass readings: Leviticus 23:1,4-11,15-16,27,34-37 / Matthew 13:54-58

Shedding Our Pride

In today's Gospel from Matthew, the people of Jesus' hometown acknowledged His wisdom and power, but they lacked respect because He was, after all, just one of them! Nobody special! Luke's Gospel expands the account (4:16-30), showing how the Nazarenes' cool reception quickly heated into anger when Jesus reminded them how poorly the prophets of old had been treated, how Elijah's and Elisha's miracles were restricted to foreigners because of the Israelites' unbelief. Jesus really hit a nerve, and the offended, ego-damaged crowd charged with murderous intent. ''But he passed through the midst of them and went away.''

How do I react when my vices are exposed? With gratitude and desire for conversion or with stung pride and determination to retaliate?

Prayer: Lord, help me to acknowledge my faults and, in humility, to find freedom and joy.