August 25, 2026
Tuesday of the 21st Week in Ordinary Time
Or Optional Memorial of Saint Louis of France
Or Optional Memorial of Saint Joseph Calasanz, Priest
Gospel: Matthew 22:23-26

Today is Tuesday of the 21st Week in Ordinary Time. The Church celebrates the Optional Memorials of two saints today: Saint Louis of France and Saint Joseph Calasanz, Priest. The recently published Roman Missal introduces these two saints as follows:

Saint Louis of France (1214-1270) became King of France at the age of twelve. He married Margaret of Provence, and they had eleven children. During his reign, he displayed great integrity, constantly promoting peace and justice, and showing great piety and care for the poor. In 1270, during his second crusade to liberate the Holy Land, he died near Tunis of dysentery. He was canonized in 1297.

Saint Joseph Calasanz, Priest (1557-1648), was born near Peralta de la Sal in Aragon, Spain, and was ordained a priest in 1583. He went to Rome, where he cared for the victims of the 1595 plague alongside Saint Camillus de Lellis. He founded the first free school in the city, and the community of teachers he gathered later developed into the Clerics Regular (the Piarists). In his later years, he suffered from false accusations, but he endured this humiliation with patience. He is the patron saint of Christian schools.

Today, the passage from the Gospel of Matthew continues to present to us Jesus’ condemnation of the scribes and Pharisees. I would like to take this opportunity to offer some reflections.

We know that the Pharisees and scribes, as well as those who followed their teachings, strictly observed the ritual regulations established by Moses. They offered various spices to God, thinking that the Lord would surely accept their sacrifices. They even believed that the fragrant offering could replace everything, to the extent that they forgot the core of the Mosaic Law: justice, mercy, and faithfulness.

Today, in our parishes, we often see “Pharisees and scribes,” and those who follow their teachings—a group of zealous parishioners who stand before the altar, assisting the pastor in the liturgy. They frequently quarrel with the pastor because they believe he does not strictly observe the liturgical norms established by the Holy Church. They use their own opinions to influence other parishes, and even the brothers and sisters who come to the parish for Mass. They are the “blind guides” Jesus spoke of, because they do not understand the core of the liturgy: the liturgy helps us to worship God more perfectly, to develop a more intimate relationship with Him, and to receive from Him the various graces He bestows upon us according to His holy will.

Today, let us imitate the virtues of Saint Louis of France and Saint Joseph Calasanz, Priest, and no longer live according to the standards of this world, but according to the guidance of the Holy Spirit. For only by following the guidance of the Holy Spirit can we live out the love that Jesus spoke of. The love Jesus spoke of is a selfless love, and even more so, a sincere love. It requires us no longer to seek our own interests, no longer to provoke one another, no longer to envy each other, but with the sincerity He showed us, to actively care for our brothers and sisters living in darkness, to bring them back to Christ’s one fold, and to make their words and deeds always conform to those of our Lord Jesus Christ. When God sees that we have accomplished the mission He has given us according to His holy will, He will bestow upon us more graces, making our hearts pure, so that we may see the Kingdom of God and His profound love for the world.

O God, who cause the minds of the faithful to unite in a single purpose, grant your people to love what you command and to desire what you promise, that, amid the uncertainties of this world, our hearts may be fixed on that place where true gladness is found. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,God, for ever and ever

©Totus Tuus 2026
Cum Approbatione Ecclesiastica