In today's Gospel we hear Jesus say to his disciples: "Unless your righteousness surpasses the Scribes and Pharisees you will not enter into the Kingdom of heaven." What was the righteousness of the religious leaders of Jesus' day? It was a righteousness based on an extreme observance of the letter of the Law. What is our righteousness based on? Jesus and obedience to the Commandment out of love. If love is our rule of life, then we cannot remain in anger and un-forgiveness. We cannot remain aloof and distant on seeing the man half dead on the side of the road like the Levite and Priest in the parable. Rather our righteousness must be impelled by the love of Christ so that whatever we do whether in word or deed we do for the glory of God. 

 Eleventh Sunday  Gospel C

A Pharisee invited Jesus to dine with him, and he entered the Pharisee’s house and reclined at table.  Now there was a sinful woman in the city who learned that he was at table in the house of the Pharisee. Bringing an alabaster flask of ointment, she stood behind him at his feet weeping and began to bathe his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them, and anointed them with the ointment. 

· We are not given any indication of what had happened to the woman before this for her to do such an unusual deed. Had Jesus already encountered her with a message of forgiveness and now she was showing her gratitude? We don’t know.

When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, that she is a sinner.” 

· Do we too judge people from their past or from their outside appearances?

Jesus said to him in reply, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” “Tell me, teacher,” he said. “Two people were in debt to a certain creditor; one owed five hundred days’ wages and the other owed fifty. Since they were unable to repay the debt, he forgave it for both. Which of them will love him more?” Simon said in reply, “The one, I suppose, whose larger debt was forgiven.”

· Jesus teaches through the use of parables.

He said to him, “You have judged rightly.” Then he turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? When I entered your house, you did not give me water for my feet, but she has bathed them with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but she has not ceased kissing my feet since the time I entered. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she anointed my feet with ointment.

· It was the normal oriental customs for the host to greet his guest with a kiss, to have the servants wash his feet before reclining on the couches, and to anoint the head with oil as a sign of respect. If the Pharisee really saw Jesus as a prophet, he would have done these deeds.

· But the woman acknowledges both who Jesus is and her debt to him for his merciful forgiveness.

· How has Jesus shown his love for us and how have we responded to his love?

 So I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven because she has shown great love. But the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little.” He said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” 

· Jesus confirms again to her that her sins have been forgiven out of love and that her love response is received by Jesus as a sign of her gratitude.

The others at table said to themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?” But he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” 

· Jesus doesn’t justify his statement. He doesn’t focus on those who do not believe but only on the one who sincerely believes in him.

· The faith of the woman who believed she was forgiven was evidenced by her gift of love shown to Jesus.

· Is our faith so evidenced by our love of Jesus?

Afterward he journeyed from one town and village to another, preaching and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. Accompanying him were the Twelve and some women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, Joanna, the wife of Herod’s steward Chuza, Susanna, and many others who provided for them out of their resources.

· Some traditions identify Mary, called Magdalene, with the woman in the Gospel narrative above.

· What is God saying to you through this event in the Gospel? What response is he looking for from you?

 "Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls." (1 Pet 1_8-9)

What should bring us this "inexpressible and glorious joy"? Knowing, loving and believing in the Lord Jesus Christ. When we first encountered Jesus in a way that he became real to us and not someone we heard of, was there not an new, inner joy? As we come to a deeper love for Jesus, is not joy the fruit of this love? As our faith in seeing God face to face and being with God eternally becomes stronger, is not a sense of joy present with us?  This joy is a mere shadow of the joy that awaits us in the eternal presence of God with all the angels and saints. As long as we keep our eyes on the prize, union with God, our joy will be renewed within us. Hold on to this joy!

 Where do you find your true joy, the joy that is not just a feeling, but an inner realization of fulfillment? The prophet Isaiah gives us the answer. "I rejoice heartily in the Lord, in my God is the joy of my soul; For he has clothed me with a robe of salvation, and wrapped me in a mantle of justice, like a bride bedecked with her jewels." (Is 61:10) Relationship with God, the source of all that is good in my life, is the reason for the presence of joy within  us. This is the joy that Jesus said we would have to the fullness. "“I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete." (Jn 15:11) The more we focus on our relationship with God, the more we spend time with him in the solitude of prayer, the more we live the commandment of love and service, the more will the joy of the Lord remain and deepen in us. This joy is one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit, whose presence we are blessed to experience as we share and grow in the divine life as adopted sons and daughters of the Father.

" It is a question of an inner strength, rooted in love (cf. Eph 3:17), which St. Paul writes about to the faithful of Ephesus: may the Father "grant you in accord with the riches of his glory to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner self" (Eph 3:16). Paul prays to the Father to give this higher power to those to whom he is writing. Christian tradition lists this power among the "gifts of the Holy Spirit," deriving them from the text of Isaiah which lists them as the characteristics of the Messiah (cf. Is 11:2 ff.). Among the gifts with which Christ's most holy soul is filled, the Holy Spirit also gives to Christ's followers the fortitude which he was champion of in his life and death. One can say that the Christian who is involved in the "spiritual combat" has a share in the strength of the cross!" (St. John Paul I I)

Who among us does not need the gift of fortitude in living the full life as a disciple/witness of the Lord Jesus Christ? True there is a natural fortitude which is part of our life as a human being. This fortitude enables to face the natural fears of existence. But the gift of the Spirit enables us to confront the spiritual evils along our journey to the Lord and to remain faithful to our life in Christ. The greatest evils come from the Evil One in forms of temptations. Humanly, we are weak against this onslaught. But John reminds us that "He who is in us is greater than he who is outside of us."  We have received the "Spirit who enables us to cry out Abba, Father"  and to proclaim Jesus as Lord in times of temptation. This strength and conviction comes from the Holy Spirit who is with us and in us as our helper and provider.  This gift of fortitude is not a one time event, but is available to us in a fresh new way each time we ask for it or any other gifts of the Spirit. Come, Holy Spirit, come. Give me a fresh outpouring of all your gifts that I need each day to  remain a faithful son of the Father, servant of the Lord and anointed by you.

 The Blessed Virgin Mary was filled with the Holy Spirit from the moment she was conceived in her mother's womb. For she was conceived by God's grace from from Original Sin and sharing in the divine life of God. That is what the Angel confirmed at the Annunciation. He called her "full of grace."  At that event, she was told that she would conceive the Savior of the world by the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit. 'And the Word became flesh." In turn, Mary became the first evangelizer, going to her cousin Elizabeth and bringing the blessing of the child in her womb to the child in Elizabeth's womb. And Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit confirms the motherhood of Mary and that the child was the Lord. Mary with great joy then praises God for all he has done for her and through her.

Mary was at the foot of the cross when Jesus handed over his Spirit to the Father and Jesus' side was pierced from which blood and water flowed. Mary was with the Apostles and the hundred and twenty in the Upper Room on Pentecost when she received a fresh outpouring of the Spirit, now as the Mother of the Church. Her role was to walk with the early Church, sharing with them her memories of Jesus' early life. She acts as a witness of what  it means to be filled with the Holy Spirit as an icon of holiness and a witness to the Risen Lord. As our Mother, she leads us to a deeper relationship with Jesus in the Spirit to the Father. As we prepare for the celebration of Pentecost, we too pray through the intercession of our Lady for a greater openness and response to the fresh outpouring of the Spirit at this time of our lives. Come, Holy Spirit, come.

 Yesterday, we reflected on the power and role of the Holy Spirit in the conception of the Son of God as Man with the consent of Mary. We reflected on the first "epiclesis" or invocation of the Holy Spirit during the Eucharistic Prayer. The elements of bread and wine are changed into the Body and Blood of Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit and the words of Jesus. 

There is a second "epiclesis" after the consecration takes place in which we acknowledge that only through the power of the Holy Spirit and the death and resurrection of Jesus can we, the Body of Christ, can be transformed into the same Christ that is offered to the Father as a sacrifice of thanksgiving. Here is what one person has said about these two invocations of the Holy Spirit. "The epiclesis, in which, by means of particular invocations, the Church implores the power of the Holy Spirit that the gifts offered by human hands be consecrated, that is, become Christ’s Body and Blood, and that the unblemished sacrificial Victim to be consumed in Communion may be for the salvation of those who will partake of it."

The Word became Flesh, when the Holy Spirit,  together with Mary's consent to the will of God, overshadowed her. Similarly,  the Holy Spirit will transform us only with our consent and submission to his power.  The full effect of our communion with God depends upon our response to the power of the Holy Spirit, as we share in the divine life of God.