Daughters of St.

Paul
16 October 2011 29th Sunday of Ordinary Time Year A

Buona Domenica
We know you are a truthful man and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. And you are not concerned with anyones opinion for you do not regard a persons status (Mt. 22:16)
While the Pharisees try to entrap Jesus with the question of paying tax to Caesar, they nevertheless acknowledge his honesty in being a truthful man teaching the way of God, as well as his courage and neutrality in carrying out this teaching regardless of the opinion of others and irrespective of their status. Honesty, courage and neutrality are fruits of an inner freedom present in Jesus This inner freedom is what we as Christians should also hope to grow and develop. Having an inner freedom built on a healthy self-esteem, knowing that one is the beloved child of God, would lead to an honest and truthful character, not having to be plastic or twofaced in our dealings with people. An inner freedom would also give us the courage of not being concerned with the opinion of others, confident that our actions and words are in line with Gods will, which is ultimately to love. Being neutral and not minding the status or rank of others also stem from an inner freedom where the interior disposition or the heart of persons matters more than their status in life, their education and occupation, their type of housing, car, clothes etc. In short, as Christians, we should pray for the grace to grow in this inner freedom of Jesus so that others too would be able to see the Christ-like characteristics of honesty, courage and neutrality in us. And as others are able to see Christ in us, we too pray that we are able to see Christ in others, so that we are able to love everyone, irrespective of their opinion and status in life. Sr. Wendy Ooi, fsp