Catholic Men’s Daily Devotional and Bible Study – 28th Week in Ordinary time – Thursday – Luke 11:47-54

Christ continues His condemnation of the hostile Pharisees and lawyers with a series of “woes”; “Woes” are a declaration of doom, curses that warn the unrepentant of God’s coming judgment.

Christ rebukes the Pharisees for hypocrisy and pride because they falsely honored the prophets, claiming  they would not have killed the prophets as their fathers had; Christ (the Divine Prophet) condemns their lies, knowing that the Pharisees’ will successfully carry out their schemes to kill Him.  Ominously, Christ warns that the current generation will bear the bloodguilt of all the murdered prophets; as the Son of God, His murder at their hands will increase the cost infinitely and bring down God’s wrath.

He again (v. 45) condemns the lawyers, this time of taking away the “key to knowledge”; Christ exposes the lawyers’ manipulative practice of keeping Scriptures locked up, restricting access to keep control of what men were allowed to hear. Now exposed, the Pharisees and lawyers begin to relentlessly attack Christ, seeking to build evidence against Him; ironically, this validates Christ’s revelation of their evil.

Awed by Jesus Christ – Son of God, Christ has perfect knowledge of the inner evil motives of the Pharisees and lawyers and their future evil acts. Divine Prophet and Judge, Christ condemns their evil intentions and foresees the burden the generation will bear for His murder.

Being a Heroic Catholic Man

1) Christ knows the Pharisees are scheming to murder Him. Reflect on Christ’s impressive courage, that despite the powerful Pharisees’ plans, He harshly condemns them publicly, in their own home.

2) As Christ condemns the lawyers for hiding the truth from men, today, many in the Church fail to teach the fullness of truth, avoiding controversial topics (contraception, pornography, perverse sexual acts, etc.) or even condoning sin. Study the Catechism of the Catholic Church and pray for Christ to lead you to faithful teachers.

3) Reflect on Christ’s toughness in His interactions with the Pharisees and lawyers (Luke 11: 37-54). How might Christ interact with you?

Spiritual Practices – Include in Today’s Prayers

Sacred Mystery of Rosary – The Luminous Mysteries

Daily Devotion – The Holy Eucharist

Virtue of the Day – Fortitude

Corporal Work of Mercy – To shelter the homeless

Spiritual Work of Mercy – To bear wrongs patiently