Sunday Reflections: "It is Mercy I desire, not Sacrifice"

In this Sunday's Gospel reading, we hear of Jesus telling the pharisee that it is mercy that God desires, not sacrifice. In our "traditional" Catholic upbringing, we are trained and reared to think that "sacrifice" is everything. We have to pray, we visit the Church, we participate in the Liturgy, we light candles, and what have you. But we fail to emphasize that what is necessary is not the candle lit, or the prayers uttered, or the Liturgies attended. What really matters is the "HEART" that is behind the performance and doing of such pious practices.

Dear friends, the Lord Jesus is not only telling the pharisee in the Gospel this very meaningful phrase, "It is mercy I desire, not sacrifice." Jesus is precisely expressing the same message to all of us today.

May we grow in our awareness that what matters most is the Love and the Concern that drive us to do, to perform, and in the Jesuit Education terms, to excel in whatever we do. May we put to heart Jesus' Word today and everyday. Amen.