Thursday, September 17, 2020 - 24th week of Ordinary Time - Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 7, 36-50 - Come to me, all you who labor under the burden, says the Lord, and I will give you rest.

St. Luke, in his Gospel, mentions the three times that Jesus was invited to dinner by the Pharisees - in chapter 7, 36; in 11, 37; and finally in 14, 1 - invitations that He accepted all of them and in which He demonstrated that He is merciful, that He has authority, and especially that He is the Savior, even on the Sabbath day. This chapter 7:36-50 that we have just heard shows that He is merciful, even though the woman who touched Him is a great sinner.

It is true that being merciful is the very nature of Christ, but there is also the attitude of the woman, especially her faith. Her love for Christ earned her mercy, and Christ's mercy towards her strengthened her faith and trust in Christ: "Love provokes forgiveness, and forgiveness provokes love: the more one is forgiven, the more one is inclined to love," said one thinker. True love erases many sins, this is part of the teaching that Christ transmitted to this Pharisee who invited him, and he also transmits it to us as his disciples; there is no need to be hypocritical before Him, he simply asks us to show Him the authenticity of our life, as this woman did. Each one of us can also invite Christ into our homes, especially into our innermost being, and we can submit our lives to Him in order to receive His mercy and love.