Wednesday of Week 5 – 1 Kings 10:1-10; Mark 7:14-23

It is from within, from men’s hearts, that evil intentions emerge. Mark 7:22

So often I hear accusations against God and the Church that it forbids something, commands something and thus encumbers a person. Yes, we have commandments: ‘do not kill’, ‘do not steal’, ‘receive the sacrament of penance at least once a year’. But no one forces us to do this. By giving us freedom, God allows us to make our own choices.

Today Jesus talks about our tendency to evil and sin. They are the result of a person’s free but wrong choice. Jesus explains to the Pharisees that it was not the foods that the Law defined as unclean and prohibited from eating that caused uncleanness, but unresisted temptations and sins arising in the human heart.

How many times have my choices brought me sadness and bitterness. I fell into sin because I was behaving towards God like a spoiled child. Often, they led to a loss of freedom and emptiness. Just because I wasn’t listening to God.

Lord Jesus, you created my heart in the image of your Divine Heart and you trust me because you know how much beauty I can bring out of myself when I experience Your closeness. Do not let me desire evil things, but only You. You live and reign forever and ever. Amen.