Today's Gospel

We Live in an Angry Culture

Welcome back to Radical and Relevant. I'm Matthew Kelly. We're exploring the genius of the gospel and just how radical it is 2000 years later. What does that mean? It's still really hard to live and just how relevant it is 2000 years later. What does that mean? Jesus rooted the gospel in a profound understanding of the human person, which makes it timeless. Today's reading is from the Gospel of Matthew 5:20-26. "For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. You have heard that it was said to the men of old, 'You shall not kill. And whoever kills shall be liable to judgment.' But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be liable to judgment. Whoever insults his brother shall be liable to the council, and whoever says, 'You fool!' shall be liable to the hell fire. So if you are offering your gift at the altar, and there you remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Make friends quickly with your accuser, while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison. Truly, I say to you, you will never get out till you have paid the last penny."

What jumps out at you today? We talk each day about picking a word or a phrase or an idea. Today, for me, it's just a word. Jesus says, "But I say to you that everyone who is angry--" and that's the word angry, because it seems we live in an angry culture at the moment. It seems almost everyone is angry about something and very often disproportionately angry. It's like, okay, yeah, I can see that that's a problem, or I can see that that's an injustice. But your anger seems outsized for what we're actually talking about here. And so I think today is opportunity to explore our anger. And what are we angry at? Who are we angry at? Is it proportionate? Are we finding healthy ways to express that anger? Are we expressing that anger in unhealthy ways? Or are we suppressing that anger? And that isn't good for us or anyone else because it will stay there, it will fester. That anger turned in on itself will ultimately become a form of profound sadness or depression. So we experience anger. Jesus was angry in the temple. Natural human emotion. Question is, how do we express it? How do we process it? Have a great day. Remember, Be Bold, Be Catholic.

I was at dinner many years ago, was about to speak in a parish, and there were a bunch of people at the dinner, and I heard, out of sort of just peripheral, a priest say at the head of the table, "You can become a saint just by governing your speech." And it was just so convincing, it was so compelling. I have wanted to write this book for at least 20 years. And it's The Forgotten Way: The St. James Master Plan. The Forgotten Way: The St. James Master Plan. If you haven't got a copy, encourage you to pick a copy up. I think it's probably–it might be the most challenging thing I've ever written. The promise of this book is very simple: you can transform your life by changing the way you speak. The Forgotten Way: The St. James Master Plan. Hope you pick up a copy today. God bless you and remember, Be Bold, Be Catholic.