They are blind guides of the blind

Gospel of the Day (Matthew 15:1-2.10-14)

Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said,

Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They do not wash (their) hands when they eat a meal.

He summoned the crowd and said to them, "Hear and understand.

It is not what enters one's mouth that defiles that person; but what comes out of the mouth is what defiles one."

Then his disciples approached and said to him, "Do you know that the Pharisees took offense when they heard what you said?"

He said in reply, "Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted.

Let them alone; they are blind guides (of the blind). If a blind person leads a blind person, both will fall into a pit."

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Reflections:

"They are blind guides of the blind"

«I am the light of the world; whoever follows me will not walk in darkness» (Jn 8,12). Yes, our Lord enlightens those who are blind. As for ourselves, my brethren, we have been enlightened even in this life by means of the ointment of faith. The Lord began by mixing his saliva with earth to spread it over the eyes of the man born blind (Jn 9,6). But we, too, are born blind, we who are sons of Adam, and we have need of the Saviour to enlighten us. He mixed his saliva with earth: «And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us,» (Jn 1,14)...

We will see him face to face. «Now,» Saint Paul says, «we see him indistinctly, as in a mirror, but then face to face,» (1Cor 13,12). And Saint John, too, says in his epistle: «Beloved, we are God's children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed. We do know that when it is revealed, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is,» (1Jn 3,2). See what a great promise has been held out to you; so if you love him, follow him.

«I do love him,» you will say to me, «but by which path shall I follow him?»... Are you asking which way to take? First of all, listen to the Saviour say to you: «I am the Way.» And to where does this way lead? «I am the Truth and the Life,» (Jn 14,6)...You are not being told: Try hard to find the way that leads to truth and life. No; no one is saying that to you. Get up, you sluggard; the Way in person has come to find you. He is rousing you from your sleep if only you listen to his voice saying to you: «Rise and walk,» (Mt 9,5).

Source: Daily Gospel