manipulative people

¹“Pay attention, lest you perform your justice before men, in order to be seen by them; otherwise you shall not have a reward with your Father, who is in heaven. ²Therefore, when you give alms, do not choose to sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the towns, so that they may be honored by men. Amen I say to you, they have received their reward. ³But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, ⁴so that your almsgiving may be in secret, and your Father, who sees in secret, will repay you.

⁴Charity is patient, is kind. Charity does not envy, does not act wrongly, is not inflated. ⁵Charity is not ambitious, does not seek for itself, is not provoked to anger, devises no evil.

¹⁴And no wonder, for even Satan presents himself as if he were an Angel of light.

²⁴And even my tongue will meditate on your justice all day long, when those who seek evils for me have been confounded and set in awe.

¹⁰“Two men ascended to the temple, in order to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a tax collector. ¹¹Standing, the Pharisee prayed within himself in this way: ‘O God, I give thanks to you that I am not like the rest of men: robbers, unjust, adulterers, even as this tax collector chooses to be. ¹²I fast twice between Sabbaths. I give tithes from all that I possess.’ ¹³And the tax collector, standing at a distance, was not willing to even lift up his eyes to heaven. But he struck his chest, saying: ‘O God, be merciful to me, a sinner.’ ¹⁴I say to you, this one descended to his house justified, but not the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled; and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”

⁹Open your mouth, declare what is just, and do justice to the indigent and the poor.

³¹And exactly as you would want people to treat you, treat them also the same.

⁴Charity is patient, is kind. Charity does not envy, does not act wrongly, is not inflated. ⁵Charity is not ambitious, does not seek for itself, is not provoked to anger, devises no evil. ⁶Charity does not rejoice over iniquity, but rejoices in truth. ⁷Charity suffers all, believes all, hopes all, endures all.

¹My little sons, this I write to you, so that you may not sin. But if anyone has sinned, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the Just One. ²And he is the propitiation for our sins. And not only for our sins, but also for those of the whole world. ³And we can be sure that we have known him by this: if we observe his commandments. ⁴Whoever claims that he knows him, and yet does not keep his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. ⁵But whoever keeps his word, truly in him the charity of God is perfected. And by this we know that we are in him. ⁶Whoever declares himself to remain in him, ought to walk just as he himself walked.

¹James, servant of God and of our Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes of the dispersion, greetings. ²My brothers, when you have fallen into various trials, consider everything a joy, ³knowing that the proving of your faith exercises patience, ⁴and patience brings a work to perfection, so that you may be perfect and whole, deficient in nothing. ⁵But if anyone among you is in need of wisdom, let him petition God, who gives abundantly to all without reproach, and it shall be given to him. ⁶But he should ask with faith, doubting nothing. For he who doubts is like a wave on the ocean, which is moved about by the wind and carried away;

¹¹So then, if you have not been faithful with iniquitous mammon, who will trust you with what is true?

⁴⁵So, too, the Son of man has not come so that they would minister to him, but so that he would minister and would give his life as a redemption for many.”

²⁵Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the Church and handed himself over for her,

²⁰There is desirable treasure, as well as oil, in the habitations of the just. And the imprudent man will waste it.

³And if I distribute all my goods in order to feed the poor, and if I hand over my body to be burned, yet not have charity, it offers me nothing.

¹And he said to his disciples: “It is impossible for scandals not to occur. But woe to him through whom they come! ²It would be better for him if a millstone were placed around his neck and he were thrown into the sea, than to lead astray one of these little ones.

²⁷Provide no place for the devil.

¹Then, after the death of Ahab, Moab transgressed against Israel. ²And Ahaziah fell down through the lattices of his upper room, which he had in Samaria, and he was injured. And he sent messengers, saying to them, “Go, consult Beelzebub, the god of Ekron, as to whether I may be able to survive this infirmity of mine.” ³And an Angel of the Lord spoke to Elijah, the Tishbite, saying: “Rise up, and ascend to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria. And you shall say to them: ‘Is there not a God in Israel, so that you would go to consult Beelzebub, the god of Ekron? ⁴For this reason, thus says the Lord: From the bed to which you have ascended, you shall not descend. Instead, dying you shall die.’ ” And Elijah went away. ⁵And the messengers returned to Ahaziah. And he said to them, “Why have you returned?” ⁶But they responded to him: “A man met us, and he said to us: ‘Go, and return to the king who sent you. And you shall say to him: Thus says the Lord: Is it because there was no God in Israel that you are sending to consult Beelzebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore, from the bed to which you have ascended, you shall not descend. Instead, dying you shall die.’ ”

⁴⁵In this way, you shall be sons of your Father, who is in heaven. He causes his sun to rise upon the good and the bad, and he causes it to rain upon the just and the unjust.

¹³Everything is possible in him who has strengthened me.