“No engineer gets to decide for himself which engineering and science formulas are correct - He has to take them all as fact, or he won't get his degree. No doctor gets to decide for himself which medical procedures he or she is taught are true or not - He has to believe them all or he won't get his diploma. And Catholics as well don't get to decide which teachings of the Catholic Church are true or not. We have to believe them all…It's all or nothing folks….Everyone's goal in life should be to obey God and His Church completely, so that we can one day go to heaven. The goal of life should NOT be to do what we “think” is right, because we could be very sincere but wrong and not even know it......”

We are of God. Whoever knows God listens to us, and he who is not of God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error – St John the Apostle  (AD 6 – c. 100: was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus according to the New Testament)

Gospel text: (Mk 7:1-13)

When the Pharisees with some scribes who had come from Jerusalem

gathered around Jesus,

they observed that some of his disciples ate their meals

with unclean, that is, unwashed, hands.

(For the Pharisees and, in fact, all Jews,

do not eat without carefully washing their hands,

keeping the tradition of the elders.

And on coming from the marketplace

they do not eat without purifying themselves.

And there are many other things that they have traditionally observed,

the purification of cups and jugs and kettles and beds.)

So the Pharisees and scribes questioned him,

“Why do your disciples not follow the tradition of the elders

but instead eat a meal with unclean hands?”  

He responded,

“Well did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites,

as it is written:

    This people honors me with their lips,

        but their hearts are far from me;

    in vain do they worship me,

        teaching as doctrines human precepts.

You disregard God’s commandment but cling to human tradition.”

He went on to say,

“How well you have set aside the commandment of God

in order to uphold your tradition!

For Moses said,

    Honor your father and your mother,

    and Whoever curses father or mother shall die.

Yet you say,

‘If someone says to father or mother,

“Any support you might have had from me is qorban”’

(meaning, dedicated to God),

you allow him to do nothing more for his father or mother.

You nullify the word of God

in favor of your tradition that you have handed on.

And you do many such things.” 

Reflect, today, upon the burning desire in the heart of our Lord to draw you into worship. Reflect upon how well you allow yourself to be drawn into this worship every time you attend the holy Mass. Seek to make your participation not only an exterior one but, first and foremost, an interior one. Doing so will help ensure that the rebuke of our Lord upon the scribes and Pharisees does not also fall upon you.