Humility and Authority

 The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today, Memorial of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary, challenge us to patience and humility as we strive to understand how we respond to the inequalities and injustice in our environment.

Saint Mary's Cathedral Basilica

The Reading from the Prophet Ezekiel proclaims The Glory of the Lord Returns

a. [43:1] 1 Chr 9:18.

b. [43:4] cf. Ez 10:19.

c. [43:5] cf. Ez 11:24.

d. [43:7] 1 Chr 28:2; Ps 132:7; Is 6:1; Jer 3:17. (Ezekiel, CHAPTER 43 | USCCB, n.d.)

Psalm 85 presents the people who wait humbly with open hearts. God will be active on their behalf.

* [Psalm 85] A national lament reminding God of past favors and forgiveness (Ps 85:2–4) and begging for forgiveness and grace now (Ps 85:5–8). A speaker represents the people who wait humbly with open hearts (Ps 85:9–10): God will be active on their behalf (Ps 85:11–13). The situation suggests the conditions of Judea during the early postexilic period, the fifth century B.C.; the thoughts are similar to those of postexilic prophets (Hg 1:5–11; 2:6–9). (Psalms, PSALM 85 | USCCB, n.d.)

The Gospel of Matthew presents the Denunciation of the Scribes and Pharisees.

* [23:1–39] The final section of the narrative part of the fifth book of the gospel is a denunciation by Jesus of the scribes and the Pharisees (see note on Mt 3:7). It depends in part on Mark and Q (cf. Mk 12:38–39; Lk 11:37–52; 13:34–35), but in the main it is peculiar to Matthew. (For the reasons against considering this extensive body of sayings-material either as one of the structural discourses of this gospel or as part of the one that follows in Mt 24–25, see note on Mt 19:1–23:39.) While the tradition of a deep opposition between Jesus and the Pharisees is well founded, this speech reflects an opposition that goes beyond that of Jesus’ ministry and must be seen as expressing the bitter conflict between Pharisaic Judaism and the church of Matthew at the time when the gospel was composed.

* [23:2–3] Have taken their seat…Moses: it is uncertain whether this is simply a metaphor for Mosaic teaching authority or refers to an actual chair on which the teacher sat. It has been proved that there was a seat so designated in synagogues of a later period than that of this gospel. Do and observe…they tell you: since the Matthean Jesus abrogates Mosaic law (Mt 5:31–42), warns his disciples against the teaching of the Pharisees (Mt 14:1–12), and, in this speech, denounces the Pharisees as blind guides in respect to their teaching on oaths (Mt 23:16–22), this commandment to observe all things whatsoever they (the scribes and Pharisees) tell you cannot be taken as the evangelist’s understanding of the proper standard of conduct for his church. The saying may reflect a period when the Matthean community was largely Jewish Christian and was still seeking to avoid a complete break with the synagogue. Matthew has incorporated this traditional material into the speech in accordance with his view of the course of salvation history, in which he portrays the time of Jesus’ ministry as marked by the fidelity to the law, although with significant pointers to the new situation that would exist after his death and resurrection (see note on Mt 5:17–20). The crowds and the disciples (Mt 23:1) are exhorted not to follow the example of the Jewish leaders, whose deeds do not conform to their teaching (Mt 23:3).

* [23:4] Tie up heavy burdens: see note on Mt 11:28.

* [23:5] To the charge of preaching but not practicing (Mt 23:3), Jesus adds that of acting in order to earn praise. The disciples have already been warned against this same fault (see note on Mt 6:1–18). Phylacteries: the Mosaic law required that during prayer small boxes containing parchments on which verses of scripture were written be worn on the left forearm and the forehead (see Ex 13:9, 16; Dt 6:8; 11:18). Tassels: see note on Mt 9:20. The widening of phylacteries and the lengthening of tassels were for the purpose of making these evidences of piety more noticeable.

* [23:6–7] Cf. Mk 12:38–39. ‘Rabbi’: literally, “my great one,” a title of respect for teachers and leaders.

* [23:8–12] These verses, warning against the use of various titles, are addressed to the disciples alone. While only the title ‘Rabbi’ has been said to be used in addressing the scribes and Pharisees (Mt 23:7), the implication is that Father and ‘Master’ also were. The prohibition of these titles to the disciples suggests that their use was present in Matthew’s church. The Matthean Jesus forbids not only the titles but the spirit of superiority and pride that is shown by their acceptance. Whoever exalts…will be exalted: cf. Lk 14:11. (Matthew, CHAPTER 23 | USCCB, n.d.)

Molly Mattingly comments that today’s readings set humility and glory alongside each other. 

While they are on such different ends of a spectrum for us, it seems they are very close to each other for God. Why might that be? I think one of the Ignatian catchphrases, “finding God in all things,” gets at this. Where only two or three are gathered, God is there. What brings people close to God is glorified. God is not so limited as to be absent from the small and ordinary.

Friends in ministry have referred to themselves along the way as “glorified event planners” or “Jesus’ party planners.” How might glory shine through the mundane tasks of grocery shopping for a retreat, tracking attendance and registrations in spreadsheets, sending emails, printing resources, etc.? How might glory shine through the mundane tasks in your daily life? What will all those boring details look like, glorified, in light of how they allowed people to encounter Christ? (Mattingly, 2026)

Don Schwager quotes “God is our father and teacher,” by Jerome 347-420 AD).

"No one should be called teacher or father except God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. He alone is the Father, because all things are from him. He alone is the teacher, because through him are made all things and through him all things are reconciled to God. But one might ask, 'Is it against this precept when the apostle calls himself the teacher of the Gentiles? Or when, as in colloquial speech widely found in the monasteries of Egypt and Palestine, they call each other Father?' Remember this distinction. It is one thing to be a father or a teacher by nature, another to be so by generosity. For when we call a man father and reserve the honor of his age, we may thereby be failing to honor the Author of our own lives. One is rightly called a teacher only from his association with the true Teacher. I repeat: The fact that we have one God and one Son of God through nature does not prevent others from being understood as sons of God by adoption. Similarly this does not make the terms father and teacher useless or prevent others from being called father."(excerpt from COMMENTARY ON MATTHEW) (Schwager, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler comments on the texts for today.

The Word Among Us Meditation on Matthew 23:1-12 comments that St. Thérèse of Lisieux (1873–1897)’s story tells us that we don’t become humble all at once. It takes time to learn how to cooperate with God’s grace. It takes practice—and trial and error—to develop the habit of relying on the Lord rather than on our own ability.

It’s true that humility is not easy to come by. But don’t let that discourage you. Remember Thérèse. Remember the grace of God that is always flowing from the wounded side of Christ. Jesus wants to help you resist the temptations to prideful thoughts and self-centered actions, so let him. Let him teach you how to humble yourself so that you can “be exalted” by him (Matthew 23:12)!

“Lord, teach me how to live in humility, no matter what I face! (Meditation on Matthew 23:1-12, n.d.)

Father Richard Rohr introduces Abby Norman who considers how the prophet Ezekiel used radical symbolic action to draw attention to injustice.

God constantly invites us to a new way, and always, the first step of that invitation is to lament the way things are now…. I believe our imagination is our greatest asset when it comes to seeing how the ways of the world can change into the ways of God, but we cannot get there if we first do not understand that God isn’t happy about the way things are now. We lament so that we can then imagine a better way.(Rohr, n.d.)

We invoke the Holy Spirit to enlighten our understanding of the acceptance of our mission in accord with the humility and faith of Queen Mary to declare “Let it be done, according to Your Will”

References

Ezekiel, CHAPTER 43 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Bible Readings, Audio and Video Every Morning | USCCB. Retrieved August 22, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/ezekiel/43?1 

Matthew, CHAPTER 23 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Bible Readings, Audio and Video Every Morning | USCCB. Retrieved August 22, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/23?1 

Mattingly, M. (2026, August 22). Daily Reflection August 22, 2026 | Creighton Online Ministries. Creighton Online Ministries. Retrieved August 22, 2026, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/daily-reflections/daily-reflection-august-22-2026 

Meditation on Matthew 23:1-12. (n.d.). Word Among Us. Retrieved August 22, 2026, from https://wau.org/meditations/2026/08/21/1651581/ 

Psalms, PSALM 85 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Bible Readings, Audio and Video Every Morning | USCCB. Retrieved August 22, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/85?9 

Rohr, R. (n.d.). The Hebrew Prophets: Weekly Summary. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved August 22, 2026, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/the-hebrew-prophets-weekly-summary/ 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). Whoever Humbles Oneself Will Be Exalted. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved August 22, 2026, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/ 

Loved into Life

 The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to apply the action indicated in the Great Commandment to reject the dryness and discrimination that diminishes our love of neighbour.

Love the neighbor who annoys us?

The Reading the Prophet Ezekiel shares a Vision of the Dry Bones.

* [37:1–14] This account is a figurative description of God’s creation of a new Israel. Even though that creation begins with the remains of the old Israel, the exiles under the image of dry bones, depicting a totally hopeless situation, the new Israel is radically different: it is an ideal people, shaped by God’s spirit to live the covenant faithfully, something the old Israel, exiles included, were unable to do. While this passage in its present context is not about the doctrine of individual or communal resurrection, many Jewish and Christian commentators suggest that the doctrine is foreshadowed here.

* [37:9] The Hebrew word rûah has multiple related meanings expressed by different English words: wind, spirit, breath. In this translation, rûah is rendered “spirit,” a powerful force that creates vision and insight (v. 1); “breath,” physical energy that quickens and enlivens (vv. 5–6); “wind,” invisible physical energy, sometimes destructive, sometimes invigorating (e.g., the rain-bearing winter winds), also a metaphor for restoration and new life (vv. 9–10); “my spirit,” a share in God’s power so the people observe the law that assures them life in the land (v. 14). (Ezekiel, CHAPTER 37 | USCCB, n.d.)

Psalm 107 invites those who have been rescued by God to give praise.

* [Psalm 107] A hymn inviting those who have been rescued by God to give praise (Ps 107:1–3). Four archetypal divine rescues are described, each ending in thanksgiving: from the sterile desert (Ps 107:4–9), from imprisonment in gloom (Ps 107:10–16), from mortal illness (Ps 107:17–22), and from the angry sea (Ps 107:23–32). The number four connotes totality, all the possible varieties of rescue. (Psalms, PSALM 107 | USCCB, n.d.)

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus proclaims The Greatest Commandment.

* [22:34–40] The Marcan parallel (Mk 12:28–34) is an exchange between Jesus and a scribe who is impressed by the way in which Jesus has conducted himself in the previous controversy (Mk 12:28), who compliments him for the answer he gives him (Mk 12:32), and who is said by Jesus to be “not far from the kingdom of God” (Mk 12:34). Matthew has sharpened that scene. The questioner, as the representative of other Pharisees, tests Jesus by his question (Mt 22:34–35), and both his reaction to Jesus’ reply and Jesus’ commendation of him are lacking.

* [22:35] [A scholar of the law]: meaning “scribe.” Although this reading is supported by the vast majority of textual witnesses, it is the only time that the Greek word so translated occurs in Matthew. It is relatively frequent in Luke, and there is reason to think that it may have been added here by a copyist since it occurs in the Lucan parallel (Lk 10:25–28). Tested: see note on Mt 19:3.

* [22:36] For the devout Jew all the commandments were to be kept with equal care, but there is evidence of preoccupation in Jewish sources with the question put to Jesus.

* [22:37–38] Cf. Dt 6:5. Matthew omits the first part of Mark’s fuller quotation (Mk 12:29; Dt 6:4–5), probably because he considered its monotheistic emphasis needless for his church. The love of God must engage the total person (heart, soul, mind).

* [22:39] Jesus goes beyond the extent of the question put to him and joins to the greatest and the first commandment a second, that of love of neighbor, Lv 19:18; see note on Mt 19:18–19. This combination of the two commandments may already have been made in Judaism.

* [22:40] The double commandment is the source from which the whole law and the prophets are derived. (Matthew, CHAPTER 22 | USCCB, n.d.)

Carol Zuegner comments that we can love our neighbor as ourselves, but does that count the neighbor who annoys us?

Jesus would say yes to all of the above. Will we sometimes be irritated by those neighbors, colleagues, family members? Yes. We live in a world where paths cross, where what we want and like and see as the right direction may not be the wants and likes and direction of others. We can love the person and not particularly care for how the person reacts in the moment.

Saint Ignatius asks us to find God in all things. All things. Not just the people who agree with us or situations we control. We are all made in the image and likeness of God. That finding God in all things can be so difficult in a world filled with pain and suffering and so little peace. That makes it even more important that in our own corner and in our own way, we take a deep breath. We let our irritation slip away. We pray for peace here and now and everywhere. (Zuegher, n.d.)

Don Schwager quotes “Loving God with heart, mind, and soul,” by Origen of Alexandria (185-254 AD).

"Worthy is he, confirmed in all his gifts, who exults in the wisdom of God, having a heart full of the love of God, and a soul completely enlightened by the lamp of knowledge and a mind filled with the word of God. It follows then that all such gifts truly come from God. He would understand that all the law and the prophets are in some way a part of the wisdom and knowledge of God. He would understand that all the law and the prophets depend upon and adhere to the principle of the love of the Lord God and of neighbor and that the perfection of piety consists in love." (excerpt from COMMENTARY ON MATTHEW 13) (Schwager, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler comments on the texts for today in which the Prophet Ezekiel presents the vision of the dry bones in the plain. Ezekiel preaches and they come back to life. He is referring to the people of Israel and connecting the personal resurrection of the dead with the bones on the surface. The Zoroastrian death practice is to leave the bodies on the ground and on the final day they will rise from the dead using this idea of resurrection of the dead. The idea was beginning to take hold in Israel. Ezekiel came into contact with the Zoroastrian practice to learn more of what we are called to be. The Sadducees and Pharisees who are attacking Jesus ask about the greatest commandment. Friar Jude expresses the bottom line is love, horizontal to our neighbours and vertical, with God.

The Word Among Us Meditation on Matthew 22:34-40 comments that the Catechism tells us, “One cannot honor another person without blessing God his Creator. One cannot adore God without loving all men, his creatures” (2069).

Every other commandment depends on these two (Matthew 22:40). Love of God is intricately tied up with our love of others, just as our love for our neighbor makes visible our love for God. That’s why we can rely on these two commandments to guide us when we are uncertain about how we should live.

So be sure to love God in prayer today—and love the people he will place in your life.

“Holy Spirit, show me how best to fulfill your command to love God and neighbor in all I say and do today.” (Meditation on Matthew 22:34-40, n.d.)

Father Richard Rohr finds in the prophets an invitation to follow their path of disrupting injustice. We must ask, Why has critical thinking always had to come from outside our religious systems and hardly been allowed from within? This is a major problem.

We have tried to reform religion with the same codes of violence and willpower used by corporations, monetary systems, landowners, and nation-states, often leaving the egos and self-interests of hierarchs quite in control. Further, we have a tendency to minimize evil, attacking it in individual “bad guys” instead of exposing and convicting the intergenerational lies that consume most cultures: things like pride, deceit, power, war, and greed.

This, more than any other reason, is why Christianity did little to reform or evolve the Roman, Holy Roman, Russian, French, Spanish, English, or American empires, but instead slept comfortably with every one of them. The evils that ate us alive were seldom called evil because the “priestly” groups were intent on enforcing ritual requirements and purity codes—in which Jesus and the prophets showed little or no interest. Once we lose the prophetic analysis, most evil will be denied, disguised, or hidden among the rules and rituals of religion and the law itself. This is how truth is “discerned” in a dualistic world: by winning the purity and identity contests. (Rohr, n.d.)

We seek the guidance of the Spirit as we open our hearts and minds to the power of love to overcome our privilege and prejudice that blocks our mission of love and care for all Jesus siblings.

References

Ezekiel, CHAPTER 37 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Bible Readings, Audio and Video Every Morning | USCCB. Retrieved August 21, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/ezekiel/37?1 

Matthew, CHAPTER 22 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Bible Readings, Audio and Video Every Morning | USCCB. Retrieved August 21, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/22?34 

Meditation on Matthew 22:34-40. (n.d.). Retrieved August 21, 2026, from https://wau.org/meditations/2026/08/21/1651581/ 

Psalms, PSALM 107 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved August 21, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/107? 

Rohr, R. (n.d.). Engaging in Good Trouble. Engaging in Good Trouble. Retrieved August 21, 2026, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/engaging-in-good-trouble/ 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). What Is the Greatest Rule of Life? Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved August 21, 2026, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/ 

Zuegher, C. (n.d.). Daily Reflection August 21, 2026 | Creighton Online Ministries. Creighton Online Ministries. Retrieved August 21, 2026, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/daily-reflections/daily-reflection-august-21-2026