See the need for mercy

The texts today from the Roman Catholic Lectionary describe our approach to two apparently very different situations. Like the audience addressed in the second letter to the Thessalonians, we are attentive to talk of the end times. Friar Jude Winkler notes that this can either be the cataclysmic consequences of the end of the world or our personal end. The anxiety in Thessalonica may have originated with the belief of Paul that we were living in the end times or it may be traced to later prophets of doom. The distinction between addressing the end times with love, mercy and compassion for others and being fearful for ourselves is important. The letter encourages us to continue to practice the love and good deeds of Jesus secure in the understanding that He accompanies us through all our transitions, including the end times. The Pharisees hear Jesus exaggerate the way they attend scrupulously to minute detail of the Law in the Gospel from Matthew. Joe Zaborowski reflects on our tendency to be like Pharisees as he considers the message of Pope Francis to turn our attention more to the needs of our fellow humans. Br. Jack Rathschmidt calls on us to act to proclaim and maintain the dignity of all people so as to stop neglecting the weightier matters of the Law as Jesus exhorts today. The disciple acts to help replace fear with love and rules with mercy.