“A practicing Catholic is bound to perform many good works if he is living a Sacramental life, but one must always remember, all “good works” stem from Sacramental grace received and daily prayer, for without daily prayer you will find your desire to serve others will diminish………… Without daily prayer and the Sacraments (Weekly reception of the Eucharist and regular confession) we will not find the way to the Lord, we cannot nor will we understand the Truth, we cannot crucify the flesh with its passions and lusts, our heart will not be enlightened with the light of Christ and ultimately, we will not be united to God…….. None of those things can be affected unless they are preceded by daily prayer and the Sacraments....Mother Teresa put it best….” When you look at the inner workings of electrical things, you see wires. Until the current passes through them, there will be no light. That wire is you and me. The current is God. We have the power to let the current pass through us, use us, to produce the light of the world, Jesus, in us. Or we can refuse to be used and allow darkness to spread.”

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 whether or not you are willing to humbly embrace all of the truths that God has revealed and whether you are willing to make them the foundation of your life.  If you do this, all else will flow forth in love and worship.