Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 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.”
Change from within
1) The exterior. That refers to everything that’s around you, circumstances you must face and people or situations that you blame when life does not go the way you want. Perhaps you use people or situations as scapegoats, so as to vent all the negativity that you have bottled up inside. This leads to huge mistakes. Be careful, analyze what you are doing because you might be using other people.
2) The interior. That’s what is within you and that you must work to change. This is where Jesus wants to be, working inside you, not condemning you, but illuminating you. Sometimes you make the mistake of judging others based on your weaknesses; you subject others to your whims and are not objective. You don’t take the time or make the effort to really get to know others, and you judge them by what you see. How important it is to fill one’s heart with God! The strength and love that move you and bring about good come from within. Discover God in you and take him to other hearts that are empty. God does not abandon you because He loves you.
3) Things do not change. There are things in life you must learn to accept and endure, you must learn how to handle them
. Let’s pray to Jesus that we may free ourselves from all our internal temptations and pressures, but not in a way that threatens others. Let’s pray that we may be patient and learn from situations we suffer.
Remember that something good is on the way!
God bless you and keep you in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
