“Go to your checkbook and see what you spend money on. In an instant, you will know what is important to you because your money goes toward it.”

“Remember that you have only one soul; that you have only one death to die; that you have only one life...If you do this, there will be many things about which you care nothing.” - Saint Teresa of Ávila: (1515 –1582), was a prominent Spanish mystic, Roman Catholic saint, & Carmelite nun)

Gospel Text: (LK 11:42-46)

The Lord said:
"Woe to you Pharisees!
You pay tithes of mint and of rue and of every garden herb,
but you pay no attention to judgment and to love for God.
These you should have done, without overlooking the others.
Woe to you Pharisees!
You love the seat of honor in synagogues
and greetings in marketplaces.
Woe to you!
You are like unseen graves over which people unknowingly walk."

Then one of the scholars of the law said to him in reply,
"Teacher, by saying this you are insulting us too."
And he said, "Woe also to you scholars of the law!
You impose on people burdens hard to carry,
but you yourselves do not lift one finger to touch them."

Haven’t all of us, like these Pharisees sometimes lived by the wrong priorities? Haven’t we too occasionally given lesser things far more attention than they deserve and more important things not nearly enough? If so, Jesus’ promises of woe are meant for us as well. And yet, there is hope. We can move from woe to well being, from death-in-life to real life, if we replace all that might be misguided about our lives with the fruits of the Spirit that St. Paul delineates in the reading from Galatians (Galatians 5:18-25).

As he assures us, we make our way into the Kingdom of God when our lives are characterized by love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. If we embody those virtues, all our woes will soon be left behind.