Memorial of St. Augustine
The day's lectionary asks us to consider whether our hidden life would, if exposed, accord with our public profession. Holiness is not a matter of being seen well, but of being known truly — first by God, and then, by grace, by ourselves.
All three readings press the question of inward integrity. Paul appeals to the witness of God for his blameless conduct; the Psalmist confesses that no inner thought is hidden; Christ unmasks the scribes whose interior contradicts their facade.
First Reading
You recall, brothers, our toil and drudgery. Working night and day in order not to burden any of you, we proclaimed to you the Gospel of God. You are witnesses, and so is God, how devoutly and justly and blamelessly we behaved toward you believers. As you know, we treated each one of you as a father treats his children, exhorting and encouraging you and insisting that you conduct yourselves as worthy of the God who calls you into his Kingdom and glory.
Responsorial Psalm
Where can I go from your spirit? From your presence where can I flee? If I ascend to the heavens, you are there; if I lie down in Sheol, there you are. If I take the wings of dawn and dwell beyond the sea, even there your hand guides me, your right hand holds me fast.
Gospel
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You are like whitewashed tombs, which appear beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and every kind of filth. Even so, on the outside you appear righteous, but inside you are filled with hypocrisy and evildoing.
“You were within me, but I was outside, and it was there that I sought you. In my unloveliness I plunged into the lovely things which you created. You were with me, but I was not with you. Created things kept me from you; yet if they had not been in you they would have not been at all.”