Mt 23:13-22
‘Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut up the kingdom of Heaven in people’s faces, neither going in yourselves nor allowing others to go who want to. ‘Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over sea and land to make a single proselyte, and anyone who becomes one you make twice as fit for hell as you are. ‘Alas for you, blind guides! You say, “If anyone swears by the Temple, it has no force; but anyone who swears by the gold of the Temple is bound.” Fools and blind! For which is of greater value, the gold or the Temple that makes the gold sacred? Again, “If anyone swears by the altar it has no force; but anyone who swears by the offering on the altar, is bound.” You blind men! For which is of greater worth, the offering or the altar that makes the offering sacred? Therefore, someone who swears by the altar is swearing by that and by everything on it. And someone who swears by the Temple is swearing by that and by the One who dwells in it. And someone who swears by heaven is swearing by the throne of God and by the One who is seated there. ‘
Jesus does not show indulgence to those who are called to point out to others the way to God, when they themselves become obstacles, for having taken wrong paths, towards which they also lead those who have been entrusted to them. The Lord makes them see how wrong they are, and it is not difficult to imagine what awaits them if they continue in this way and do not convert.
Applying it to the situation in our Church, this means the following:
It is a great calling and honor to take the gospel to the people, and it also carries with it a great responsibility. The more people we reach, the greater the responsibility. For example, those in the hierarchy of the Church are not only called to support and strengthen the flock, to instruct it rightly, to protect it from evil, to administer the sacraments, but they also represent the Church to the world. She has a mission in this world: to testify to the immutability of the Gospel, to manifest the love and goodness of God and, at the same time, to point out the errors that proliferate in the world to the detriment of mankind.
Today’s Gospel speaks of the blindness of the shepherds. Indeed, this is a great danger, because blindness can increase, so that error increasingly obscures the gaze and prevents a clear vision. Therefore, everything that contradicts the Gospel and the doctrine of the Church must be resisted at its roots.
If we allow a lie to enter our life and we do not try to reject it immediately or confront it with the truth, then in time we could end up getting used to this lie. We may go so far as to not even realize that we are living in a lie, and then we will have become blind.
But the tragedy of blindness is particularly regrettable when it affects the pastors of the Church.
Not a few people came to the Catholic Church attracted by its clear doctrine, and thus found their way home. However, they are now confronted with confusions within the Church.
Why do the bishops not correct those theologians who, in the name of the Church, teach and spread errors? How will they respond to God, who has entrusted them with his flock?
What will God say to those pastors who do not put a stop to them?
Love and truth go hand in hand. Man has the right to hear the truth from the mouth of the Church.
Blind shepherds cannot lead the flock. Therefore, only those who teach in conformity with the Gospel and the authentic doctrine of the Church can be heard. May the Lord open the eyes of blind shepherds, and if they are not willing to change their ways, may he deliver us from them!
