You pay tithes of mint and dill and cummin,
and have neglected the weightier things of the law:
judgment and mercy and fidelity.
There is a modern expression that encapsulates the approach of the Pharisees: majoring in the minors. They took a rigorous approach to details. This would not have been wrong in itself but it caused them to ignore and neglect the weightier things of the law: "judgment and mercy and fidelity". Jesus did not say the details were unimportant. He criticized the Pharisees for ignoring more important things because of a disproportionate focus on those details. But why focus in that way? Was it not precisely because such things were easier to control, because it was easier to succeed at precision tithing than at comprehensive mercy? Was it not also because of the way that these lesser things appeared to demonstrate their religious expertise in ways that more vague and amorphous concepts like mercy could not? They thought their tithing was impressive, and used it to build a public image of themselves that implied that they neglected nothing. Yet what good was tithing if it did not represent putting God first in one's life, if it had nothing to do with fidelity? Tithing in such a way as to build one's own ego was exactly the opposite of the point.
You cleanse the outside of cup and dish,
but inside they are full of plunder and self-indulgence.
The Pharisees selected actions that required nuance and demonstrated competence, but that didn't touch the heart in any real way. They multiplied their compliance with external details because it provided a good front to mask their hearts, which were far from God. They wanted to look good in the eyes of others, but the motivations they pursued were fundamentally selfish.
We can't say that we don't know Catholics who have taken an approach similar to that of the Pharisees, or even that we have never been such Catholics ourselves. Externals are easier. Inner transformation is not within our direct control. We may make occasional efforts at conversion, but when results evade us we tend to revert back to what we can control rather than persisting in bringing our good desires to God through prayer. Such externally excellent Catholics who nevertheless harbor invisible corruption help to explain the state of religious discourse on the internet. Engaging in abstract debates with strangers is very easy and controllable. But it is also mostly irrelevant and useless. Our outrage only serves to distract us from our actual lives in which we stand in need of actual grace in order to become less like Pharisees and more like Jesus himself, who never neglected judgment, mercy, or fidelity.
Therefore, brothers and sisters, stand firm
and hold fast to the traditions that you were taught,
either by an oral statement or by a letter of ours.
We don't have to guess about what is important, or make up our own traditions about what should be our priorities in this life. The living Tradition of the Church contains all we need to know as long as we approach it honestly and sincerely. This Tradition is not burdensome. It is a part of the everlasting encouragement given to us by Jesus Christ and God our Father. This gift really can "encourage your hearts and strengthen them in every good deed and word".
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