Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 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.”

The pure and the impure

1. The Pharisees. We can no longer say that Pharisaism is an attitude that belonged to a certain branch of Judaism, because it is also part of the Catholic Church, of our Church. People who feel capable of judging others and even of determining who can proclaim the reading at Mass and who can’t. There are people who have the ability to detect who receives Holy Communion and who doesn’t, creating a sort of “ecclesial caste” within the Church, and assuming that if they are acolytes, altar servers or extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion they are almost “Catholics with superpowers”. This leads many people to feel excluded from the Church or even makes them feel impure. Basing religion on rules and norms and not on a living, close and merciful God, is missing the point altogether, and it is how the development of a caste begins – so much so, that in many places, not even the priests may enter that select group, for these people believe that they are the authority to point fingers, using their knowledge of ecclesial and pastoral documents, and that they are above everyone else. But they don’t know or consider the men and women who are in front of them and have a broken heart.

2. Father and mother. I have seen children who detach themselves from their father and mother, as if they were a burden. They even consider it a “favor” when they visit their father or mother. It is painful to see this kind of hypocrisy, when your indifference destroys the person who gave birth to you and took care of you (in whatever way they were able to). I understand that there are parents who did not do things right, but nevertheless in this life there is no manual on how to be a mom or dad. You learn day by day. Some time ago I was talking to a lady friend, and she was saying, “it seems that they are ashamed of me”, because her children are professionals, and she is still a maid. How sad it is to see people who forget their parents’ efforts.

3. The word and tradition. Keep your faith alive, nourish it and live by it. Be aware of the presence of God in your life and live in purity. Don’t become anyone’s judge and, if you can help anyone, do so. Whatever your parents are like, thank God for having them and for what they have given you. Give yourself the opportunity to be happy with what you have and don’t dwell on what you could have been or had. Enjoy the day and understand that we all make mistakes. We are all blemished, but that means we must get up every day in hope and joy because there is a God who is constantly giving us opportunities.

Remember that something good is on the way!  

God bless you and protect you in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.