Gospel
Matthew 7:21-29
21 Not every one that saith to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven: but he that doth the will of my Father who is in heaven, he shall enter into the kingdom of heaven. 22 Many will say to me in that day: Lord, Lord, have not we prophesied in thy name, and cast out devils in thy name, and done many miracles in thy name? 23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, you that work iniquity. 24 Every one therefore that heareth these my words, and doth them, shall be likened to a wise man that built his house upon a rock, 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and they beat upon that house, and it fell not, for it was founded on a rock.
26 And every one that heareth these my words, and doth them not, shall be like a foolish man that built his house upon the sand, 27 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and they beat upon that house, and it fell, and great was the fall thereof. 28 And it came to pass when Jesus had fully ended these words, the people were in admiration at his doctrine. 29 For he was teaching them as one having power, and not as the scribes and Pharisees.
I think I probably covered most of this Gospel in yesterday’s. In today’s first readings we are told that the Captor of Israel carried off all the soldiers to join is army through forced conscription. But importantly, he also took the craftsmen. In our time I don’t think we appreciate craftsmen enough, even though a carpenter or a plumber still make more per hour than most of the “educated” or professional classes. I think it is important to remember that Jesus trained under Saint Joseph as a carpenter. It seems that Joseph may have been a specialized craftsman, in that he made tools
Out Lord made the tools with which others made things and did real physical work. He did not disdain the simple and necessary. We are ruled by men who have never really done anything- attorneys, mostly. College professors teach about things they have only read in books. Real men still work with their hands and their minds. We should never disdain the man who works physically for a living. In many ways, the worker participates in a ministery. The priest is of a class that does not use their hands manually. They are necessary. The farmer who grows the food, the cook, the carpenters and all manner of people who do a tangible good for society are no less necessary. In each vocation we may find the path to holiness. In truth, none is unnecessary and all are worthy of being considered holy. Saint Paul worked as a tent maker and refused to be supported outside of his physical work. Do not disdain the mundane if it supports others. While many saints have been those who have taken religious vocations, far more have been simple people, mothers and fathers and humble workers whose name we will never know.
Judson Carroll is the author of several books, including his newest, A Daily Catholic Devotional, Reflections on the Daily Mass Readings July-December, 2024 It is Available in paperback on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D3ZTXQB4
and
Confirmation, an Autobiography of Faith. It is also Available in paperback on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C47Q1JNK
His new podcast is The Uncensored Catholic https://www.spreaker.com/show/the-uncensored-catholic
Spot on!
It is healthy for everyone to work or create with their hands. Projects make us well rounded. We are to emulate the great Creator. ❤️