“No matter how dark things seem to be or actually are, raise your sights and see the possibilities – always see them, for they're always there.”
Gospel text (Mk 8,22-26):
When Jesus and his disciples arrived at Bethsaida,
people brought to him a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him.
He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village.
Putting spittle on his eyes he laid his hands on the man and asked,
"Do you see anything?"
Looking up the man replied, "I see people looking like trees and walking."
Then he laid hands on the man's eyes a second time and he saw clearly;
his sight was restored and he could see everything distinctly.
Then he sent him home and said, "Do not even go into the village."
I doubt that what I have to say would fit with a deeper interpretation of Mark's gospel, but there is still something here worth considering.
Jesus leads the blind man aside, so different from what He usually does, and then He works His miracle in two stages, almost as if He were not quite sure what He is doing. This is also very different from what usually happens.
We might apply this to ourselves. If we really wish Jesus to heal us or to change us in any way, we need to go aside with Him, to spend time alone with Him in prayer or at least in reading or spiritual conversation. We need to retreat from worldly concerns and place ourselves entirely in His hands.
And Jesus does not work His healing in us all at once. Like a teacher, He takes us some distance on one day, and then, when we have grown from that, He takes us a further step or two on the next day. We will spend our entire lives growing and maturing in different ways as He loves us, heals us, teaches us, and draws us closer to Himself in all things.
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
May the Heart of Jesus Christ be our school!
"If we but paused for a moment to consider attentively what takes place in this Sacrament [the Eucharist], I am sure that the thought of Christ's love for us would transform the coldness of our hearts into a fire of love and gratitude." - St. Angela of Foligno
Gospel text (Mk 8,14-21):
The disciples had forgotten to bring bread,
and they had only one loaf with them in the boat.
Jesus enjoined them, "Watch out,
guard against the leaven of the Pharisees
and the leaven of Herod."
They concluded among themselves that
it was because they had no bread.
When he became aware of this he said to them,
"Why do you conclude that it is because you have no bread?
Do you not yet understand or comprehend?
Are your hearts hardened?
Do you have eyes and not see, ears and not hear?
And do you not remember,
when I broke the five loaves for the five thousand,
how many wicker baskets full of fragments you picked up?"
They answered him, "Twelve."
"When I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand,
how many full baskets of fragments did you pick up?"
They answered him, "Seven."
He said to them, "Do you still not understand?"
“. . . are your hearts hardened?”
This question of Jesus to His disciples is ironically apt for Valentine’s Day. So, more surprising still, is the realization that the very notion of heart is itself biblical, quite independent of how it may be translated. The word “heart” occurs 550 times in the Old Testament, 128 of these in the Psalms alone. And it doesn’t stop with the Old Testament. Jesus used “heart”, as in today’s reading, over 50 times in the New Testament.
Think of just a few of the phrases using heart: we’re soft-hearted when we’re kind and compassionate, hard-hearted when we’re mean and uncaring. We’re faint-hearted or stout of heart; we get to the heart of the matter. When we’re disappointed, our hearts are broken; and when we’re happy, our hearts are bursting for joy. Where our treasure lies there will our hearts be also. God told Ezekiel that he would replace the stony hearts of his people with hearts of flesh. And Luke tells us that Simeon told Mary, at the presentation of the infant Jesus, that through her the thoughts of many hearts would be revealed. And after her two visits to Jerusalem with her Son, we read that Mary kept these things in her heart. How natural that seems!
Our Lord never misses an opportunity to teach and today being Valentine’s Day is no exception. So when considering a gift for the ones you love most, along with the standard box of chocolate hearts, “given in” to Jesus’ Sacred Heart. This is the best imaginable valentine gift of all, for it endlessly pours itself out in self-giving.
Hard as that may seem, our baptisms make it possible. Never forget, Jesus has given us a heart transplant – His own!
Happy Valentine's Day!!!
Gospel text (Mk 8,14-21):
The disciples had forgotten to bring bread,
and they had only one loaf with them in the boat.
Jesus enjoined them, "Watch out,
guard against the leaven of the Pharisees
and the leaven of Herod."
They concluded among themselves that
it was because they had no bread.
When he became aware of this he said to them,
"Why do you conclude that it is because you have no bread?
Do you not yet understand or comprehend?
Are your hearts hardened?
Do you have eyes and not see, ears and not hear?
And do you not remember,
when I broke the five loaves for the five thousand,
how many wicker baskets full of fragments you picked up?"
They answered him, "Twelve."
"When I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand,
how many full baskets of fragments did you pick up?"
They answered him, "Seven."
He said to them, "Do you still not understand?"
“. . . are your hearts hardened?”
This question of Jesus to His disciples is ironically apt for Valentine’s Day. So, more surprising still, is the realization that the very notion of heart is itself biblical, quite independent of how it may be translated. The word “heart” occurs 550 times in the Old Testament, 128 of these in the Psalms alone. And it doesn’t stop with the Old Testament. Jesus used “heart”, as in today’s reading, over 50 times in the New Testament.
Think of just a few of the phrases using heart: we’re soft-hearted when we’re kind and compassionate, hard-hearted when we’re mean and uncaring. We’re faint-hearted or stout of heart; we get to the heart of the matter. When we’re disappointed, our hearts are broken; and when we’re happy, our hearts are bursting for joy. Where our treasure lies there will our hearts be also. God told Ezekiel that he would replace the stony hearts of his people with hearts of flesh. And Luke tells us that Simeon told Mary, at the presentation of the infant Jesus, that through her the thoughts of many hearts would be revealed. And after her two visits to Jerusalem with her Son, we read that Mary kept these things in her heart. How natural that seems!
Our Lord never misses an opportunity to teach and today being Valentine’s Day is no exception. So when considering a gift for the ones you love most, along with the standard box of chocolate hearts, “given in” to Jesus’ Sacred Heart. This is the best imaginable valentine gift of all, for it endlessly pours itself out in self-giving.
Hard as that may seem, our baptisms make it possible. Never forget, Jesus has given us a heart transplant – His own!
Happy Valentine's Day!!!
Monday, February 13, 2012
Wisdom is what's left after we've run out of personal opinions
“Patience is the companion of wisdom.” - Saint Augustine
James (1:1-11)
James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,
to the twelve tribes in the dispersion, greetings.
Consider it all joy, my brothers and sisters,
when you encounter various trials,
for you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.
And let perseverance be perfect,
so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
But if any of you lacks wisdom,
he should ask God who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly,
and he will be given it.
But he should ask in faith, not doubting,
for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea
that is driven and tossed about by the wind.
For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord,
since he is a man of two minds, unstable in all his ways.
The brother in lowly circumstances
should take pride in high standing,
and the rich one in his lowliness,
for he will pass away "like the flower of the field."
For the sun comes up with its scorching heat and dries up the grass,
its flower droops, and the beauty of its appearance vanishes.
So will the rich person fade away in the midst of his pursuits.
Often in our lives we can feel as though God is burdening us with too much. We may feel overwhelmed or hampered by the load he has put on our back; a load we don't feel we deserve. We may even feel as though God is punishing us for something and his love for us as dwindled. This is not true.
The Letter to James can seem quite disjointed. Beginning with an exhortation regarding perseverance in faith, the text then gives instruction about praying for wisdom. The necessary connection emerges, however, when we recall that this “wisdom” is no ordinary wisdom, but wisdom “from above.”
As in the rest of the Scriptures, such wisdom relates to faith—it helps the believer “see” clearly the meaning of the events in his or her life, precisely because it sheds light on these events from the perspective of faith. We think of Paul’s writing in his first letter to the Corinthians in which he refers to “God’s wisdom, mysterious and hidden,” the wisdom of the Cross. What the ordinary eye sees as the death of one more unfortunate victim of Roman cruelty, the eyes of faith see as the plan of God for the salvation of the world.
Only the gift of that kind of wisdom allows the believer to persevere in the midst of trials which test faith.
Where have we recently experienced a trial or testing of faith?
Perhaps someone has experienced rejection from a friend, associate or family member because of a moral stance taken. Perhaps someone else struggles to find the nearness of God that seemed so reassuring just a short time ago. Our great temptation is to “figure out” these and similar situations. By contrast, James urges us: Pray for the gift of wisdom, for the light that comes from God, to see more clearly God’s presence and find the grace of perseverance in trial.
James (1:1-11)
James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,
to the twelve tribes in the dispersion, greetings.
Consider it all joy, my brothers and sisters,
when you encounter various trials,
for you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.
And let perseverance be perfect,
so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
But if any of you lacks wisdom,
he should ask God who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly,
and he will be given it.
But he should ask in faith, not doubting,
for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea
that is driven and tossed about by the wind.
For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord,
since he is a man of two minds, unstable in all his ways.
The brother in lowly circumstances
should take pride in high standing,
and the rich one in his lowliness,
for he will pass away "like the flower of the field."
For the sun comes up with its scorching heat and dries up the grass,
its flower droops, and the beauty of its appearance vanishes.
So will the rich person fade away in the midst of his pursuits.
Often in our lives we can feel as though God is burdening us with too much. We may feel overwhelmed or hampered by the load he has put on our back; a load we don't feel we deserve. We may even feel as though God is punishing us for something and his love for us as dwindled. This is not true.
The Letter to James can seem quite disjointed. Beginning with an exhortation regarding perseverance in faith, the text then gives instruction about praying for wisdom. The necessary connection emerges, however, when we recall that this “wisdom” is no ordinary wisdom, but wisdom “from above.”
As in the rest of the Scriptures, such wisdom relates to faith—it helps the believer “see” clearly the meaning of the events in his or her life, precisely because it sheds light on these events from the perspective of faith. We think of Paul’s writing in his first letter to the Corinthians in which he refers to “God’s wisdom, mysterious and hidden,” the wisdom of the Cross. What the ordinary eye sees as the death of one more unfortunate victim of Roman cruelty, the eyes of faith see as the plan of God for the salvation of the world.
Only the gift of that kind of wisdom allows the believer to persevere in the midst of trials which test faith.
Where have we recently experienced a trial or testing of faith?
Perhaps someone has experienced rejection from a friend, associate or family member because of a moral stance taken. Perhaps someone else struggles to find the nearness of God that seemed so reassuring just a short time ago. Our great temptation is to “figure out” these and similar situations. By contrast, James urges us: Pray for the gift of wisdom, for the light that comes from God, to see more clearly God’s presence and find the grace of perseverance in trial.
Saturday, February 11, 2012
ADOPT A FAMILY PROJECT IN CALCUTTA
One month ago I sent out a request soliciting funds to adopt families in Calcutta, India. To be frank with you, the response from the Oh….Francesco readers was overwhelming. For that I thank you from the bottom of my heart. God will surely bless you for your generosity!
Yesterday in consulting with the priest in India, Father Medi feels that if we help select families, due to the limited resources, we would have to exclude others. By doing this discord and jealousy would be created among the people he serves. So instead we have another idea. We are going to build a new church and community hall for everyone in the village. This sounds like an “impossible” task especially since I am not a “money guy”, never was. With that being said, I believe in God and in God all things are possible and because of that, this task will be accomplished. Our Blessed Mother will guide this work of love from start to finish. Believe it!!!
These days people always say they are looking for a charity that they know where the money they donate goes. Where there are no overhead costs, no big executive salaries, and no corporate non-sense to deal with. Well, here it is!
If you decide to participate in this work of love and send donations, you will be in direct contact with India yourself. I am enclosing Father Medi’s contact information. Please email him and ask any questions you may have. As for sending funds, they will go from your hand directly to his. Remember, US dollars go a long way in India. Currently, the conversion rate is around 50 to 1.
medisvdine@gmail.com
Pastor: Father Medard Tirkey
Catholic Church Prem Nagar
11/13 Puratan Sahir Lane
P.O: Santragachi, Howrah-711 104
India
My life’s experience has been very unique in that God has called me to walk among some of the world’s poorest people in many different places, both in the United States and around the world. I have seen extreme poverty first hand in India, Haiti, Cambodia, Vietnam, South Africa not to mention the Bronx and Newark, New Jersey. This exposure to Our Lord’s most neediest people has taught me many things. Most especially it has revealed to me a great responsibility that all people of faith and good will have, whether they realize it or not.
From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked. (Luke 12:48)
God did not give us a “good life” here in the United States in order for us to horde it from others. He gave to some more, so those with means, can then help those without. This is a fundamental truth, which spans across all religions and beliefs!!
This my dear friends is how we all will be judged by God when we stand before him.
When I was hungry…Did you give me to eat?
When I was thirsty…Did you give me to drink?
When I was naked…Did you cloth me?
Scripture in the 25th chapter of Mathew (MT 25: 31-46) puts is very clearly how Our Lord will separate the “sheep from the goats.”
So I implore your generosity. Be apart of something bigger then yourself. If you can not donate money, just say a small prayer for this work of love in your own words.
Lastly, to conclude this appeal, remember the words of Mother Teresa when she was asked how she started her first center in Calcutta that served the dying who lay in the street. She went on to tell this reporter who asked her, “If I did not pick up the first man from the gutter myself, thousands upon thousands would not have been picked up afterwards by others.”
It all starts with a choice and a step……make the choice and take the step!
God Bless You!!!
Yesterday in consulting with the priest in India, Father Medi feels that if we help select families, due to the limited resources, we would have to exclude others. By doing this discord and jealousy would be created among the people he serves. So instead we have another idea. We are going to build a new church and community hall for everyone in the village. This sounds like an “impossible” task especially since I am not a “money guy”, never was. With that being said, I believe in God and in God all things are possible and because of that, this task will be accomplished. Our Blessed Mother will guide this work of love from start to finish. Believe it!!!
These days people always say they are looking for a charity that they know where the money they donate goes. Where there are no overhead costs, no big executive salaries, and no corporate non-sense to deal with. Well, here it is!
If you decide to participate in this work of love and send donations, you will be in direct contact with India yourself. I am enclosing Father Medi’s contact information. Please email him and ask any questions you may have. As for sending funds, they will go from your hand directly to his. Remember, US dollars go a long way in India. Currently, the conversion rate is around 50 to 1.
medisvdine@gmail.com
Pastor: Father Medard Tirkey
Catholic Church Prem Nagar
11/13 Puratan Sahir Lane
P.O: Santragachi, Howrah-711 104
India
My life’s experience has been very unique in that God has called me to walk among some of the world’s poorest people in many different places, both in the United States and around the world. I have seen extreme poverty first hand in India, Haiti, Cambodia, Vietnam, South Africa not to mention the Bronx and Newark, New Jersey. This exposure to Our Lord’s most neediest people has taught me many things. Most especially it has revealed to me a great responsibility that all people of faith and good will have, whether they realize it or not.
From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked. (Luke 12:48)
God did not give us a “good life” here in the United States in order for us to horde it from others. He gave to some more, so those with means, can then help those without. This is a fundamental truth, which spans across all religions and beliefs!!
This my dear friends is how we all will be judged by God when we stand before him.
When I was hungry…Did you give me to eat?
When I was thirsty…Did you give me to drink?
When I was naked…Did you cloth me?
Scripture in the 25th chapter of Mathew (MT 25: 31-46) puts is very clearly how Our Lord will separate the “sheep from the goats.”
So I implore your generosity. Be apart of something bigger then yourself. If you can not donate money, just say a small prayer for this work of love in your own words.
Lastly, to conclude this appeal, remember the words of Mother Teresa when she was asked how she started her first center in Calcutta that served the dying who lay in the street. She went on to tell this reporter who asked her, “If I did not pick up the first man from the gutter myself, thousands upon thousands would not have been picked up afterwards by others.”
It all starts with a choice and a step……make the choice and take the step!
God Bless You!!!
Friday, February 10, 2012
Compassion is not religious business, it is human business
“By compassion we make others’ misery our own, and so, by relieving them, we relieve ourselves also”.
Gospel text (Mk 7,31-37):
Jesus left the district of Tyre
and went by way of Sidon to the Sea of Galilee,
into the district of the Decapolis.
And people brought to him a deaf man who had a speech impediment
and begged him to lay his hand on him.
He took him off by himself away from the crowd.
He put his finger into the man's ears
and, spitting, touched his tongue;
then he looked up to heaven and groaned, and said to him,
"Ephphatha!" (that is, "Be opened!")
And immediately the man's ears were opened,
his speech impediment was removed,
and he spoke plainly.
He ordered them not to tell anyone.
But the more he ordered them not to,
the more they proclaimed it.
They were exceedingly astonished and they said,
"He has done all things well.
He makes the deaf hear and the mute speak."
Is it possible to have faith if we are not actively living it?
A lot of commentary is devoted to why Jesus came. His basic message was to love the Lord your God and to love your neighbor as yourself. He came to spread a gospel of love, not of hate. This message holds greater meaning for me when I consider what it was like to live in His place and time
Jesus dressed like a Jew, ate like a Jew, loved to eat and drink, and deeply lived out his Judaism. That he engaged in questions of how to follow the commandments showed he cared deeply about them. He said there will be a time when we will no longer ask ‘Who is my neighbor?’, but ‘Who acts as neighbor?’
Are we waiting to be served rather than serve?
Rabbi Hillel, one of Judaism’s greatest teachers once said, “What is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow. All the rest is commentary; go and learn”. Jesus takes this a little further. Levine sees Jesus as the hero of the masses, come to promote a more just society. His followers practiced daily prayer, shared goods in common, cared for widows and believed in trusting in God’s will. Of faith, hope and charity, they believed the greatest of these is charity.
St Josemaria Escriva offers us the secret to succeed in this practice of charity: «Do what you should and watch what you do». Is this how we behave?
Gospel text (Mk 7,31-37):
Jesus left the district of Tyre
and went by way of Sidon to the Sea of Galilee,
into the district of the Decapolis.
And people brought to him a deaf man who had a speech impediment
and begged him to lay his hand on him.
He took him off by himself away from the crowd.
He put his finger into the man's ears
and, spitting, touched his tongue;
then he looked up to heaven and groaned, and said to him,
"Ephphatha!" (that is, "Be opened!")
And immediately the man's ears were opened,
his speech impediment was removed,
and he spoke plainly.
He ordered them not to tell anyone.
But the more he ordered them not to,
the more they proclaimed it.
They were exceedingly astonished and they said,
"He has done all things well.
He makes the deaf hear and the mute speak."
Is it possible to have faith if we are not actively living it?
A lot of commentary is devoted to why Jesus came. His basic message was to love the Lord your God and to love your neighbor as yourself. He came to spread a gospel of love, not of hate. This message holds greater meaning for me when I consider what it was like to live in His place and time
Jesus dressed like a Jew, ate like a Jew, loved to eat and drink, and deeply lived out his Judaism. That he engaged in questions of how to follow the commandments showed he cared deeply about them. He said there will be a time when we will no longer ask ‘Who is my neighbor?’, but ‘Who acts as neighbor?’
Are we waiting to be served rather than serve?
Rabbi Hillel, one of Judaism’s greatest teachers once said, “What is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow. All the rest is commentary; go and learn”. Jesus takes this a little further. Levine sees Jesus as the hero of the masses, come to promote a more just society. His followers practiced daily prayer, shared goods in common, cared for widows and believed in trusting in God’s will. Of faith, hope and charity, they believed the greatest of these is charity.
St Josemaria Escriva offers us the secret to succeed in this practice of charity: «Do what you should and watch what you do». Is this how we behave?
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Recognize yourself in he and she who are not like you and me
Remember, remember always, that all of us, and you and I especially, are descended from immigrants and revolutionists.” ― Franklin D. Roosevelt
Gospel text (Mk 7,24-30):
Jesus went to the district of Tyre.
He entered a house and wanted no one to know about it,
but he could not escape notice.
Soon a woman whose daughter had an unclean spirit heard about him.
She came and fell at his feet.
The woman was a Greek, a Syrophoenician by birth,
and she begged him to drive the demon out of her daughter.
He said to her, "Let the children be fed first.
For it is not right to take the food of the children
and throw it to the dogs."
She replied and said to him,
"Lord, even the dogs under the table eat the children's scraps."
Then he said to her, "For saying this, you may go.
The demon has gone out of your daughter."
When the woman went home, she found the child lying in bed
and the demon gone.
Today’s Gospel tells the story of the woman who seeks healing for her daughter, who had been entered by a demon, though she is not a Jew. Christ’s first response: “Let the children be fed first. For it is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs.” She replied with a feisty, “Lord, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s scraps.” That mother was a pagan, but her pain and love for her child brought her to insistently beg, ignoring scorn, delays or indignities. And she gets what she is asking for, she «went home, and she found her child lying in bed and the demon gone» (Mk 7:30).
We can learn much from watching Jesus in action here. For one, He tests the woman by making her persevere in her request. Second, He does not discriminate. This woman was not a Jew and in Jesus’ time the Jewish people were not to associate with the non-Jewish population of Israel, never mind help them. But as we see in our story, Jesus ignores these cultural stigmas and helps the woman anyway.
Now how does this gospel reading apply to us today in 2012?
When we are faced with the “illegal” immigrant, the homeless person , or the politician from the Dark Side (whatever that side may be), how are we to respond as apostles of Christ? We are people who go by the name, Christian, who claim to want to spread the Good News, and who yearn for greater integrity in our lives?
Is this a risky endeavor? Perhaps. It may require that we have to give up long-held opinions or comfortable judgments.
Can we chance it? To paraphrase what Jesus Himself said in another part of the Gospel, “Come in; the water’s fine.”
Gospel text (Mk 7,24-30):
Jesus went to the district of Tyre.
He entered a house and wanted no one to know about it,
but he could not escape notice.
Soon a woman whose daughter had an unclean spirit heard about him.
She came and fell at his feet.
The woman was a Greek, a Syrophoenician by birth,
and she begged him to drive the demon out of her daughter.
He said to her, "Let the children be fed first.
For it is not right to take the food of the children
and throw it to the dogs."
She replied and said to him,
"Lord, even the dogs under the table eat the children's scraps."
Then he said to her, "For saying this, you may go.
The demon has gone out of your daughter."
When the woman went home, she found the child lying in bed
and the demon gone.
Today’s Gospel tells the story of the woman who seeks healing for her daughter, who had been entered by a demon, though she is not a Jew. Christ’s first response: “Let the children be fed first. For it is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs.” She replied with a feisty, “Lord, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s scraps.” That mother was a pagan, but her pain and love for her child brought her to insistently beg, ignoring scorn, delays or indignities. And she gets what she is asking for, she «went home, and she found her child lying in bed and the demon gone» (Mk 7:30).
We can learn much from watching Jesus in action here. For one, He tests the woman by making her persevere in her request. Second, He does not discriminate. This woman was not a Jew and in Jesus’ time the Jewish people were not to associate with the non-Jewish population of Israel, never mind help them. But as we see in our story, Jesus ignores these cultural stigmas and helps the woman anyway.
Now how does this gospel reading apply to us today in 2012?
When we are faced with the “illegal” immigrant, the homeless person , or the politician from the Dark Side (whatever that side may be), how are we to respond as apostles of Christ? We are people who go by the name, Christian, who claim to want to spread the Good News, and who yearn for greater integrity in our lives?
Is this a risky endeavor? Perhaps. It may require that we have to give up long-held opinions or comfortable judgments.
Can we chance it? To paraphrase what Jesus Himself said in another part of the Gospel, “Come in; the water’s fine.”
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
The church is a hospital for sinners, not a museum for saints
Clearly the person who accepts the Church as an infallible guide will believe whatever the Church teaches. - Thomas Aquinas
Gospel text (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."
How often these days we hear people asserting that they are spiritual but not religious? This usually means the speaker has no formal institutional religious affiliation but is trying to live a good life by following personal conscience. The assertion also implies an indictment: the person has abandoned church-going because they allege their church was more concerned with externals of belonging to the institution than with conscientious moral living day to day.
Unfortunately this assertion is also common among Christians. These people imply that Christian religious affiliation itself is inherently superficial because it is preoccupied with fulfilling external religious obligations that relate to church belonging rather than with fostering the interior life of the person.This accusation related to Christianity is invalid.
Jesus’ message throughout the Gospel is primarily heart-centered, love-centered! Over and over again Jesus calls disciples to a quality of life that flows from love; on occasion he is even willing to break the law if it interferes with loving others. Witness this in his healings on the Sabbath. Witness this also also in his teaching that the whole law and the prophets are summed up in the two great commandments of loving God and loving our neighbor. Yes, witness this also in his condemnation of Pharisees whom he called “hypocrites.”
The dichotomy between being spiritual and being religious makes no sense for a Christian. We disciples of Jesus are both spiritual and religious. We are privileged to belong to a religious institution because it helps us be faithful to Jesus’ call to love God and neighbor with our entire heart, mind, soul and body — in short, to become the persons that God created us to be!
Gospel text (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."
How often these days we hear people asserting that they are spiritual but not religious? This usually means the speaker has no formal institutional religious affiliation but is trying to live a good life by following personal conscience. The assertion also implies an indictment: the person has abandoned church-going because they allege their church was more concerned with externals of belonging to the institution than with conscientious moral living day to day.
Unfortunately this assertion is also common among Christians. These people imply that Christian religious affiliation itself is inherently superficial because it is preoccupied with fulfilling external religious obligations that relate to church belonging rather than with fostering the interior life of the person.This accusation related to Christianity is invalid.
Jesus’ message throughout the Gospel is primarily heart-centered, love-centered! Over and over again Jesus calls disciples to a quality of life that flows from love; on occasion he is even willing to break the law if it interferes with loving others. Witness this in his healings on the Sabbath. Witness this also also in his teaching that the whole law and the prophets are summed up in the two great commandments of loving God and loving our neighbor. Yes, witness this also in his condemnation of Pharisees whom he called “hypocrites.”
The dichotomy between being spiritual and being religious makes no sense for a Christian. We disciples of Jesus are both spiritual and religious. We are privileged to belong to a religious institution because it helps us be faithful to Jesus’ call to love God and neighbor with our entire heart, mind, soul and body — in short, to become the persons that God created us to be!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)