Hearts of stone must be turned into hearts of flesh

Today at Holy Mass we hear in the Gospel of St Mark how Jesus cures a man on the Sabbath who had a withered hand….The Pharisees were furious - How can this be?….Clearly the Pharisees have turned the law into an idol….They lost sight of God, trying to follow the law perfectly……..The devil is very clever how he “works” on our every weakness………How did this happen to these very learned men?….Jesus gives us the answer……”Looking around at them with anger and grieved at their hardness of heart”……..This is why we must confess our sins regularly…When we do, our hearts change and are receptive to God’s grace found in the Eucharist……Its very easy to be convinced of our own righteousness - Telling ourselves  - We are right in what we say and do - And even if that is the case - If we do not speak and act with love in our heart, speaking and living the Truth becomes as St Paul tells us like “Banging Gong”……God is not necessarily impressed with what we do…….God weighs the human heart…..What is most important is to do everything grounded in love - Even the smallest of things performed in love are greater then the “grandest” gesture performed without love……..“Two people went up to the temple area to pray; one was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector. The Pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself, ‘O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity—greedy, dishonest, adulterous—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week, and I pay tithes on my whole income.’ But the tax collector stood off at a distance and would not even raise his eyes to heaven but beat his breast and prayed, ‘O God, be merciful to me a sinner.’ I tell you, the latter went home justified, not the former; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted”…….Only by God’s grace can our human hearts change…..Its very easy, as a result of the day to day struggles of life to become hard and callous to the troubles of others around us…..…Only by and through God’s grace are we given “eyes to see”…..Just as we were given the grace to see Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament - He will teach us to see God in others…Again, this type of sight can not be self-manufactured……..”I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put my spirit within you so that you walk in my statutes, observe my ordinances, and keep them”……..What we see and hear depends completely on how pure our heart is - And only God can purify the human heart through Sacramental Grace

“Jesus preached the Gospel of the Kingdom and cured every disease among the people”

Once a person has children of their own, everything changes……As a father of five children, I cannot watch children suffer, even those who are not my own - Not even on television!…Now just think about how God feels when he sees people suffer in this world…Keep in mind - All the people of the world are God’s children - What if your child was dying of starvation - Had a medical condition that could be cured but is not because of lack of resources….How would you feel?……God’s heart is so much more sensitive than our hearts because God’s heart is free from sin…Think about how he feels when he sees the world as it suffers!………”At the sight of the crowds, his heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd”…….If we are to be effective disciples in the world, we must transform our hearts......One can “get everything right” - Say “all the right things” - And still be wrong! - What do I mean?…..If our hearts are “not in the right place” - Our actions will not bear fruit from the Kingdom of God……..When we proclaim to the world in the public square that we are Catholic, believe me, people watch you very closely…..What we do matters!……We can go to Mass every day, pray the Rosary every day, fast weekly, etc…etc…But if we are not kind to our neighbors…If we are not generous…If we are not joyful…All those religious practices will be ignored…….The Gospel must be lived, not “performed” as if it is a show……..We must be transformed from the inside out……People can “smell” a phony from a mile away…..”Authenticity sells” - When the world encounters Catholics with “hearts of flesh” - The world will stop and take note - Then and only then will hearts turn to God…Its not what you say that counts - Its what you do when what you say is grounded in love that “closes the deal” for the world to see…This is how we make “disciples of men”.

“Jesus entered the synagogue. There was a man there who had a withered hand. They watched Jesus closely to see if he would cure him on the sabbath so that they might accuse him”

Today at Mass St Mark tells us that the Pharisees were more concerned that Jesus cured a man on the Sabbath, then they were concerned that a person was suffering and need attention….These men “got lost” in their own belief system….”They lost sight of the trees in the forrest”…….How about us?……Do we aspire to have the heart of Christ?…..Knowing the faith and speaking the Truth is important - But how we speak it may be equally as important…..Jesus gave to us the Beatitudes - These are the “rules of the game”……..In giving us the Beatitudes, Jesus was telling us how we are to follow him….So here is the question - Do we follow him?………”Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” - “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. - “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.” - “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” - “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.” - “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.” - “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” -  “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” - “Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.” - “Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”……..Focus on your heart, make it pure and everything else will follow……….Hearts of stone must be turned into hearts of flesh……………….JMJ