Before I could avail of the company car being offered to me, I had to take a written and practical driving exam in the office. I easily aced the practical driving exam because I’ve been driving for many years. But it took me three takes to pass the written exam. 

Being able to drive is equally important as knowing and understanding the traffic rules and signs on the road. What does the double yellow line stand for? How about the white broken line? And many others. At the end of the day, all these signs and rules that we need to know boil down to road safety for all. 

In the practice of our faith, we also have rules and commandments to follow. Sometimes, we become rigid in following the laws of Jesus that we become judgmental toward others. Remember, God’s laws are meant to lead us to love, not so we can make others’ lives miserable. They are guidelines so that as we follow Jesus, we become loving to everyone we meet. 

Joel Saludares (joelsaludares@yahoo.com)

reflect

Are you following the rules to the letter? Or are you following the purpose of the rules?

Lord God, may I follow Your great purpose in my everyday life. Teach me to love like Jesus.

Saint Ludger, pray for us.

The Commandments are prescriptions that tell us how to avoid wrongdoing. However, there is more to discipleship than not doing the wrong thing. We are called to love God and one another. We are called to live out the positive tenets of our faith as regards our care for others and our service of God’s Kingdom. May we realize that we can sin by failing to love someone in the Christian way of love.

¹ Moses spoke to the people and said: “Now, Israel, hear the statutes and decrees which I am teaching you to observe, that you may live, and may enter in and take possession of the land which the Lord, the God of your fathers, is giving you. ⁵ Therefore, I teach you the statutes and decrees as the Lord, my God, has commanded me, that you may observe them in the land you are entering to occupy. ⁶ Observe them carefully, for thus will you give evidence of your wisdom and intelligence to the nations, who will hear of all these statutes and say, ‘This great nation is truly a wise and intelligent people.’ ⁷ For what great nation is there that has gods so close to it as the Lord, our God, is to us whenever we call upon him? ⁸ Or what great nation has statutes and decrees that are as just as this whole law which I am setting before you today? ⁹ However, take care and be earnestly on your guard not to forget the things which your own eyes have seen, nor let them slip from your memory as long as you live, but teach them to your children and to your children’s children.” 

Responsorial Psalm | Psalm 147:12-13, 15-16, 19-20

R: Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.

¹² Glorify the Lord, O Jerusalem; praise your God, O Zion. ¹³ For he has strengthened the bars of your gates; he has blessed your children within you. (R) ¹⁵ He sends forth his command to the earth; swiftly runs his word! ¹⁶ He spreads snow like wool; frost he strews like ashes. (R) ¹⁹ He has proclaimed his word to Jacob, his statutes and his ordinances to Israel. ²⁰ He has not done thus for any other nation; his ordinances he has not made known to them. (R)

Gospel | Matthew 5:17-19

Jesus is not an anarchist; He did not abolish the Law. Instead, Jesus fulfills the tenets of the Law and invites all of us to do the same. I believe that the Law of Moses remains as valid today as it did 3,800 years ago. What is different today is that we have the help of the Holy Spirit to fulfill the commands of the Law. Only when we fully surrender to Him will we understand the extent of the grace that God makes available to us.

Gospel Acclamation

Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life; you have the words of everlasting life.

¹⁷ Jesus said to his disciples: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. ¹⁸ Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter will pass from the law, until all things have taken place. ¹⁹ Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do so will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments will be called greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

Reflect:

How much of God’s abundance of grace have you received over the years? What changes has His grace brought into your life?

Read the Bible in one year! Read GENESIS 47 - 50 today.

My grandmother always reminded us to wash our hands before eating. Her reason was not only cleanliness. Food is a grace from God, she told us, so we should treat it with respect. No fighting; no horsing around at the table; no leftovers on our plates in consideration of those who have no food that day. My grandmother taught us the real intention behind the law.

To “fulfill” means to bring to completion or perfection. When Jesus says He has come to fulfill “the Law or the Prophets,” He does not propose to exactly follow them to the smallest details. He Himself, in the Sermon on the Mount, will modify several prescriptions of the Law in order to deepen it. He will divest the Law of the minute prescriptions that have been attached to it through the ages and restore its true meaning by directing the people to the very core or “spirit” of the Law, which is love of God and love of neighbor.

Human laws can be imperfect and unfinished; nevertheless, just laws mirror the divine law. It is only through the Spirit of Christ that we can discern their true intent, and above all, possess the grace or power to fulfill them. 

Fr. Paolo Asprer, SSP

reflection question

Do you treat or follow laws, rules, and commandments with the right spirit?

When you are faced with a new law or regulation, what is your immediate reaction—is it resistance, or is it willingness to understand why it was put into place?

Today, I pray for: _________________________________________