My reflection will focus on our gospel text of today. This is one of the teachings of Jesus that shook the world of his days and it has equally disturbed and gnawed at the minds and consciences of people ever since. This teaching of Jesus revolutionises a person’s idea of evil and wrongdoings, of just what evil is and its causes. This teaching lay men and women bare before God making them totally dependent on God for salvation and life. This teaching of Jesus emphasizes the role of the heart in determining one’s moral and spiritual state.
Jesus says that there is no connection between what we eat and spirituality. Although, this is not to say that excessive eating and intemperance are not wrong. Lustful and excessive appetite come out of the HEART!
THE HEART (KARDIA). My reflection focuses on this part of the human body. In the Scriptures, the word “heart” refers to both the major organ of the body and to the most important part of a person. The heart is the very center of a person’s life. It is the most vital part of a person’s being. The heart contains the real person (1 Peter 3:4); it contains what and who a person really is, the true character.
The heart is the source of a person’s rational being, his or her reasoning, understanding and thinking. It is the source of a person’s emotional being, his or her joys, affections and desires. It is equally the source of a person’s spiritual being, his or her conscience, will, faith and evil.
Jesus teaches us this morning of the need to care physically and spiritually for the heart, the organ where everything about us is. Let us constantly lift our hearts to God, that he may constantly renew and purify it.
Dear friends, sin begins from within, out of our hearts. It develops in our mind in evil thoughts and then expressed in our actions.
We pray for the grace to control our hearts so that what comes from within may be positive. Amen.
