Our Venerable Father Moses the Black (c. 400); Our Holy Father Augustine, Bishop of Hippo (430); the Holy Martyr Gebre Michael, Illuminator of Ethiopia (1855)
1 Corinthians 4:1-5; Matthew 23:1-12
Read Matthew 23:1-12
Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory forever!
The difficulty with pride, brothers and sisters, is that it grows with us. Have you ever seen the icon of “The Ladder of Divine Ascent?” It features a ladder in the centre of the icon with people, some clergy, some monastics, and some lay people, ascending to heaven while demons try to pull them down and angels encourage them up. At the very top of this icon we see some holy souls who have almost made it to Our Lord, only to be pulled off just before reaching Him!
In our Gospel lesson today, we are reminded that our reasons for doing good matter. In other words, we cannot be holy accidentally. We must do the right things for the right reasons. The religious leaders of Christ’s day were interested in serving themselves by doing good works, not truly in following the Lord. We must learn from this pride and employ the counter-virtue of humility to always be on guard against the easy temptation of looking at ourselves before we look to the Lord. Let us keep our eyes focused on Him up this ladder of our life as we proceed onward and upward to His loving Heart!