From Inside

The WORD today (See http://usccb.org/bible/readings/021115.cfm) reminds me that we should give importance to the things inside of us, even if these are not readily seen.

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’s not seen.

There were many laws and regulations on food during the time of Jesus, so people follow a lot of things. 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 in him already 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.

in the first reading, we know what will happen next. Adam and Eve eventually ate food from the forbidden tree. They were created by God, they were normal and nice on the outside, but their inner state gave way to them committing sin against God. 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. 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-

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February 11, 2015

Wednesday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 331

Reading 1 Gn 2:4b-9, 15-17

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 Ps 104:1-2a, 27-28, 29bc-30

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!

Alleluia See Jn 17:17b, 17a

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Your word, O Lord, is truth:

consecrate us in the truth.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel Mk 7:14-23

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.”