The WORD today reminds me that what makes me unclean, or clean, comes from inside.
People generally want instant and visible results for their efforts. People who go to the gym often work on their upper body, since it is relatively easier to see the results on the arms and shoulders, plus it can be easily seen by other people, unlike the lower body which is almost always covered (Except when one is always wearing shorts). However, in the gospel, Jesus reminds us that sometimes, what is not seen is more important than what is seen.
There were many laws and regulations on food during the time of Jesus, so people follow a lot of things. They take in clean food to remain clean. They are careful what to eat, what to take in. However, Jesus reminded them in the gospel that what makes a person unclean is not food which goes inside a person, but things that are already in him and go out of him. Unlike food, these things are not easily seen, but they are actually more important than those readily seen.
The inner state of a person determines the outer state.
A person full of hatred, greed and evil may not be easily spotted just by looking at the appearance. The appearance may seem nice and normal, but the important things, the inner attitude and state of a person which affects the entirety of someone, are not immediately visible or obvious. In fact, other people may not see them, for evil people can do things to hide their real intentions and actions. But God sees.
God knows what are inside of us. God knows our hearts. He knows if we are full of bad things, even if other people doesn’t see them. He also sees if we are full of goodness and love. This is the reason why we should work on our inner state, on what is on our hearts, and not on other things.
What is the state of my heart right now? What things go out of me - are they goodness and love, or hate and evil intentions? What are the things I can do to make sure good things come out of me?
May we take time to check the inner state of our souls, of our beings, and do our best to improve them as well, even if people may not see the effects of it.
Father God,
Thank you for today. Thank you for another day to live. Thank you for another reminder of what is important in life. Thank you for reminding me how important the state of my soul is. Sorry for the times I ignore the importance of this. Sorry for focusing on the outside. Sorry for not having the will to clean my heart and my life. Help me be sensitive and to take time off to improve and clean my heart, so that what will come out of me and how I will live my life will always be pleasing to you. Amen
Blessed Day!
In Christ,
-g-
February 10, 2021
Wednesday of Week 5; St. Scholastica
FIRST READING
At the time when the LORD God made the earth and the heavensB while as yet there was no field shrub on earth and no grass of the field had sprouted, for the LORD God had sent no rain upon the earth and there was no man to till the soil, but a stream was welling up out of the earth and was watering all the surface of the groundB the LORD God formed man out of the clay of the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and so man became a living being.
Then the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and he placed there the man whom he had formed. Out of the ground the LORD God made various trees grow that were delightful to look at and good for food, with the tree of life in the middle of the garden and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
The LORD God then took the man and settled him in the garden of Eden, to cultivate and care for it. The LORD God gave man this order: “You are free to eat from any of the trees of the garden except the tree of knowledge of good and evil. From that tree you shall not eat; the moment you eat from it you are surely doomed to die.”
RESPONSORIAL PSALM
R. (1a) O bless the Lord, my soul!
Bless the LORD, O my soul! O LORD, my God, you are great indeed! You are clothed with majesty and glory, robed in light as with a cloak.
R. O bless the Lord, my soul!
All creatures look to you to give them food in due time. When you give it to them, they gather it; when you open your hand, they are filled with good things.
R. O bless the Lord, my soul!
If you take away their breath, they perish and return to their dust. When you send forth your spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the earth.
R. O bless the Lord, my soul!<>/b>
ALLELUIA
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Your word, O Lord, is truth: consecrate us in the truth.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GOSPEL
Jesus summoned the crowd again and said to them, “Hear me, all of you, and understand. Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person; but the things that come out from within are what defile.”
When he got home away from the crowd his disciples questioned him about the parable. He said to them, “Are even you likewise without understanding? Do you not realize that everything that goes into a person from outside cannot defile, since it enters not the heart but the stomach and passes out into the latrine?” (Thus he declared all foods clean.) “But what comes out of the man, that is what defiles him. From within the man, from his heart, come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly. All these evils come from within and they defile.”
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