MONDAY 3RD WEEK
Steve Castellano C ‘13

The People’s Persecution

"Truly I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his own country." Luke 4: 24

In the Gospel today, Jesus is in his hometown of Nazareth preaching to the people in the synagogue. He tells them that no prophet is accepted in his own country. Shortly thereafter, the crowd rises up and throws Jesus out of the city and attempts to kill him. Not only do the people reject Jesus, their Messiah, but to add insult to injury, they do it in his hometown. The people in Nazareth are really no different from you and me Although we may not persecute Christ as blatantly as the Nazarenes did, we still offend Him everyday in our words and actions. What parts of Christ’s message do we not want to accept? What are things in our life that we know are wrong? Knowing our faults is one of the greatest things we can ever do. In knowing them, we may then express contrition to God. The more contrite we are for our sins, the more we will be able to see His glorious face.

Lord, help me to be perfectly contrite for my sins, and to know how I persecute you. Amen.

2 Kngs 5: 1-15b, Ps 42: 2-3, 43: 3-4, Lk 4: 24-30