True Holiness Explained Mark 7:1-23

In today's gospel, Jesus confronted the Pharisees because of their hypocrisy. He knew that they did not observe the law that they themselves multiplied and demanded on the people. This was a dangerous way of life that we must be careful of too. We must be watchful to not live a hypocritical life, or even make life more difficult for others.

The truth that we learn today is that the quality of our life is measured by the quality of our hearts and minds. The best way to be faithful to God's commandments is to allow our hearts to be transformed by God's will which motivates us to love one another and to avoid evil. By Jesus saying that "what comes out of Man is what defiles them," Christ calls us to self-evaluation. 



It is interesting how people spend so much time, effort, and money on their physical beauty and health, and unfortunately, they do not give the same attention to their hearts and souls. Many believe that internal purity is optional or can wait. Understandably, we are careful about what we eat, wear, and apply to ourselves, but are we as careful in what comes from our minds and hearts?

God calls us in Christ Jesus to serve all others and to sacrifice ourselves and our own desires in the serving of others. We should never use our faith to think that we are just fine and ignore the poor and the needy. We must not only pray for others but also help them as best as we can, not expecting anything in return.

 
According to St. James, Pure religion before God the Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained by the world. In changing our hearts and minds, we seek how to serve others, not putting hard demands on them.

This is a beautiful aspect that we see in all our Caritas for Children sponsors. This week, let us continue to purify our hearts by being more aware of what we say, think, do, and not what we eat. Let us strive to love one another and have a sincere will to forgive others.