Today, our first reading and our gospel passage present to us two 'ways', if you will. In the second letter to the Thessalonians, the community is praised because its faith flourishes ever more, and the love of every one of [them] for one another grows ever greater. Here is a community who has absorbed and is living Jesus' teaching. In contrast, in our gospel passage today Jesus admonishes the scribes and Pharisees for their hypocrisy and misplaced values. This begs of us the question of what is at the heart of our belief. What is at the core of our followership of Jesus? Why do we do what we do? Or, more to the point, what is the 'what' we really ought to do?

Conveniently for us, today is the Memorial of The Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which means we can look to Mary for our answer. Within the last couple of years, I ran across a collection of medieval songs from the 1300s known as the Llibre Vermell de Montserrat. Among them is one entitled 'Cuncti simus concanentes' that commemorates the Annunciation. Never one to seek out medieval music, this collection and, in particular, this song, affects me. For me, it musically encapsulates the incredible mystery and drama that unfolds in Mary's assent that changed the world forever. Mary, our Queen, made the choice to love and bring Jesus into the world. Much like Mary, the Thessalonians are loving one another, bringing Jesus to one another and to their community. 

This love is really the 'what' that we are called to do. But too often we are distracted from it. Sometimes, like the Pharisees, we can become too focused on the gold and forget what makes the gold sacred. Our values can become misplaced. Imagine, for instance, if Mary had focused more on readying a proper crib fit for a king than readying her heart. No; Jesus, himself made that mere manger sacred.

Mary, Our Queen, pray for us that, like you, we may always ready our hearts to receive and give Jesus to one another in loving one another.