ENLIGHTEN OUR MINDS AND
PURIFY OUR HEARTS
PURIFY OUR HEARTS
Hypocrisy among so-called religious people is just as prevalent today as
it was centuries ago. Jesus' words are meant to challenge all of us who claim
to be His followers.
In the Responsorial
Psalm, we acclaim, "O Lord, our God, how wonderful Your name in all the
earth! When I behold Your heavens, the
work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars which You set in place - What is
man that You should be mindful of him, or the son of man that You should care
for him? You have given him rule over the works of Your hands, putting all
things under his feet" (Ps 8:2a, 4-7). If we listen to His Word and praise
His name, He will enter into our hearts!
In Mark's Gospel,
today, we see Jesus challenging the Pharisees and some scribes for their
hypocrisy. They insist on a strict observance of even the smallest purification
regulations while, at the same time, ignoring the far more important
Commandments of God regarding justice and mercy. For Jesus, it comes down to an
issue of making human regulations far more important than God's Commandments.
This is even more devious for religious leaders because they tend to be clever
enough to justify their hypocrisy and, thus, promote their self-righteousness.
Hypocrisy among so-called religious people is just as prevalent today as it was
centuries ago. Jesus' words are meant to challenge all of us who claim to be
His followers.
If we listen to
God's Word with faith and reverence, it will both enlighten our minds and
purify our hearts, enabling us to understand more clearly how He wants us to
love and serve Him, and those around us. We must remember that real
purification comes from within the heart.
This is God's will,
not ours!