A survey was once made and the one thing that people hated the most when it came to public servants was hypocrisy. 

• Don’t we hate public servants who say they are pro-poor, yet are on the payroll of mining companies and real estate developers?
• Don’t we hate public servants who say that they are pro farmers, yet support the importation of cheap agricultural products?
• Don’t we hate public servants who say that they are pro-Filipino, yet put the welfare of foreigners first?

If there is one thing people hate, it is definitely hypocrisy. Further, if there is one thing Jesus hates, it is also hypocrisy. He always lambasted the Scribes, the Pharisees, and the Elders because they loved seats of honor, they wanted to be greeted in Market Places, and they wanted to be served and not to be served.

If that were today in the Catholic faith, that would be:

• A priest, who would say, “Bawal ang magnakaw,” but continues to enrich himself with the money of the Church
• A priest, who would have a boyfriend or a girlfriend and because of that, loses the focus of the ministry
• A priest, who looks holy on the outside, but doesn’t listen to his bishop.

To help us minimize hypocrisy or living a double life, three things we should do:

1. Check our conscience. If the conscience is still there, we still have a sense of shame, and we will always do what is right. However, if a person has lost a sense of shame because he is deep into sin already, living a double life is the only option. 
2. Check our priorities. Jesus said, “You cannot have two masters; you are going to love one and despise the other”. It cannot be God and mammon. On the other hand, it is only in religion that you can use God to make a lot of money. When money becomes the priority, it is not service that we are talking about but our own selves. We cannot decrease and God increases if it is only about money.
3. Check ourselves. Not one of us is perfect. We all have our brokenness. Yet we do have to be honest to ourselves, the Church, and God. We might have issues that will not make us effective servants to God. Be open to yourself, your counsellor, your SD, and even to your formators. Ordination will not solve your issues or brokenness. Grace builds on nature. 

In today’s mass, we continue to pray for our priests. They are the number one target of the devil, who tempts them to fall because many people get hurt if they do.

We also pray for ourselves, that we may continue to examine ourselves and pray for guidance, openness, and humility. If we are meant to serve God, by all means, we go all the way. But if not, may we avoid living a double life.