Hypocrisy? No, thank you!

“Woe to you, because you build tombs for the prophets, and it was your ancestors who killed them. So you testify that you approve of what your ancestors did; they killed the prophets, and you build their tombs. Because of this, God in his wisdom said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and others they will persecute.’ Therefore this generation will be held responsible for the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the beginning of the world, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, this generation will be held responsible for it all. “Woe to you experts in the law, because you have taken away the key to knowledge. You yourselves have not entered, and you have hindered those who were entering.” When Jesus went outside, the Pharisees and the teachers of the law began to oppose him fiercely and to besiege him with questions,  waiting to catch him in something he might say. (Luke 11: 47-54)

Acts of devotion such as the erection of tombs for prophets or venerating to the saints, without a true faith in God, are not enough to help save us and others. Limiting faith to only prayers and outward signs of piety is like condemning ourselves: it does not allow either ourselves or others who follow our holy example to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Hypocrisy numbs our conscience because it allows us to believe that we are on equal terms with God through our hollow acts of devotion. Let us ask our Lord to help us, and those entrusted to us in this life, to enter the Kingdom of Heaven without falling into hypocrisy.