In calling down the Scribes and Pharisees for not practicing what they preached, Jesus also calls us to look at our behavior parents, teachers, co-workers, and neighbors. Do's and Don'ts come easily from our lips in our attempts to teach or administrate, but a close look in the mirror reveals that we don't always follow through on them in our own lives. Certainly an area for scrutiny, reform and change.
One outstanding example of a man of total integrity is King St. Louis IX of France. Yes, he reigned in the 13th century, but he remains today a model of faithfulness, compassion, honesty, integrity, deep faith and justice. His life and practices deserve more research and reflection than we can offer here, but suffice it to say he lived what he preached, having a passion for justice and right judgement, for a faith which brought him to the Holy Land as a crusader, a compassion for the poor which brought them to eat at his own table, and a deep love for Jesus which moved him to tear down his own chapel and build the Sainte Chapelle, noted for its exquisite stained glass windows, to house the relic of Jesus' crown of thorns. He lived as Jesus described as the "greatest among you, your servant" (cf. Mt 23:12). May we live humbly, faithfully and with the integrity of St, Louis of France.
Bro. Rene.
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