Jesus reveals He is perfect and warns men of the necessity of righteousness. Every Catholic man can grow in happiness by building the Virtue of Truth so he can readily accept the truth of The 10 Commandments and by seeking the Gift of Counsel from the Holy Spirit so he can more fully live the truth of the Commandments in his daily life.
Liturgy
3rd Week of Lent – Wednesday – Mt 5:17-19
Commentary
Having described the great blessings of the Beatitudes and the need for men to be enthusiastic evangelists, Jesus continues the Sermon on the Mount, a summary of the New Covenant. Preparing for the fuller revelation of the New Covenant which will expand beyond simple outer compliance to The 10 Commandments, to a radical inner conversion of the heart to love, Jesus authoritatively confirms the New Covenant builds upon and encompasses the foundation of the Old Covenant.
Remarkably, Jesus starts by revealing that He is the fulfillment (“makes complete”) of the Law and the Prophets, a shorthand reference for the entire Old Testament. He clearly and adamantly confirms the details of the Law, revealing that, not the “smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter” will be ignored. The perfection which Jesus is calling men to is an impossibly high standard; no man, except the Divine Man, Jesus Christ, has the ability to understand, and perfectly uphold the entirety of the Law and the Prophets. Only the Divine Mercy of God, received through the Holy Spirit and the Sacraments of His Holy Catholic Church, can give men the grace to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.
Jesus reveals that He has an intimate knowledge of the Kingdom of Heaven, knowing the hierarchy that exists (greater and lesser), the criteria by which men are judged (righteousness) and even those who will not be accepted into Heaven (the Pharisees and those who are less righteous). Jesus calls all men to honor the Commandments and places great responsibility on those who teach, to teach the fullness of the Commandments, or face the grave consequences of the Judgment.
Be awed by Jesus Christ
Be awed as Jesus reveals the validity of His New Covenant: Person of the Trinity, with the perfection of Divine Prudence, Jesus assesses and confirms the validity of the entire Old Testament (the Law and the Prophets) and perfectly fulfills it (CCC 577-582); He calls men to imitate His perfect practice of Religion (a part of Justice); Divine Knowledge, Jesus offers mysterious insight into how God assigns honor in the Kingdom of Heaven (greatest, least).
Accept the truth of The 10 Commandments
Realize: Today, Jesus’ clear and consistent teachings, summarized in The 10 Commandments, are widely rejected in the world. Secular governments reject God-given truth and enact evil laws which directly contradict The 10 Commandments (abortion, euthanasia, sexual perversion, financial manipulation, censorship of truth), and some in the Catholic Church avoid confronting sin, heretically accept some sins, and promote a false mercy which fails to confirm that receiving God’s mercy requires repentance from sin.
Believe: Reflect upon Jesus’ perfection of The Law (CCC 577-582, 1965-1986).
Pray: Jesus, Divine Truth, help me grow in the Virtue of Truth (a part of Justice) by learning The 10 Commandments and deeply studying the fullness of their meaning in the Catechism (CCC 2052-2557) and help me to always conform my life to Your Truth.
Live the truth of The 10 Commandments
Realize: Men are competitive and compete to win, but it is impossible to win (be accepted into Heaven) if a man doesn’t play by the rules (The 10 Commandments – CCC 2052-2082, Precepts of the Church – CCC 2041-2043).
Believe: Reflect upon the need for a regular rigorous Examination of Conscience (CCC 1385, 1454) using The 10 Commandments (there are readily available guides in most parishes).
Pray: Holy Spirit, give me the Gift of Counsel so my sins are revealed to me during my regular Examinations of Conscience and so I am given counsel by the Spirit each day to avoid sin and take holy actions.