Gospel
Mk 7,
14-23
Jesus summoned the crowd and said
to them: "Hear me, all of you, and try to understand. Nothing that
enters a man from outside can make him impure; that which comes out
of him, and only that, constitutes impurity. Let everyone heed what
he hears!"
When he got home, away from the
crowd, his disciples questioned him about the proverb. "Are you,
too, incapable of understanding?" he asked them. "Do
you not
see that nothing that enters a man from outside can make him
impure?
It does not penetrate his being,
but enters his stomach only and passes into the latrine." Thus did
he render all foods clean. He went on: "What emerges from within a
man, that and nothing else is what makes him impure.
Wicked
designs come from the deep recesses of the heart: acts of
fornication, theft, murder, adulterous conduct, greed,
maliciousness, deceit, sensuality,
envy, blasphemy arrogance, an
obtuse spirit. All these evils come from within and render a man
impure."
CHOICES
Dear Father you gave us an
awesome power. The power of choice. Everything we do in this life
involves a deliberate choice. But sadly we ignore this power. We let
our anger control our words, we let greed control our
lives, we
let our passions control who we are.
Sometimes I wonder what would
happen in this world if before every statement that we made we would
stop short and say to ourselves, "how would I feel if that were said
to me, or done to me?" Sadly though most of us choose to have the
last word, never thinking about its effects on those we love, only
thinking about how powerful we feel at the moment.
I read once in a book by Og
Mandino that we should evaluate our actions of the day in order
to face the day ahead.
Before retiring at night he asked
these questions of himself.
What infirmity have I mastered
today? Did I great the dawn with a map and Was I pleasant and
agreeable to all that I met? a goal?
Did I attempt to go the extra
mile? What passion opposed?
Did I remain alert for
opportunities? What temptation resisted?
Did I search for the good in
every problem? What virtue acquired?
What have I left undone that
ought to be done? Did I smile in the faces of anger and hatred?
What have I done which could have
been done better?
Did I survive the day without
pitying myself?
He ends it with a
prayer:
"My Unseen Friend,
Thank you for listening to me.
You know how hard I am trying to fulfill your faith in
me.
Thank you, also, for this place
in which I dwell. Let neither work nor play,no matter how satisfying
or glorious ever separate me, for long from the love that unites my
precious family.
Teach me how to play the game of
life with fairness, courage, fortitude and confidence.
Provide me with a few friends who
understand me and yet remain my friends.
Allow me a forgiving heart and a
mind unafraid to travel even though the trail may be not be
marked.
Give me a sense of humor and a
little leisure with nothing to do.
Help me to strive for the highest
legitimate reward of merit, ambition and opportunity and yet never
allow me to forget to extend a kindly,helping hand to others who
need encouragement and assistance.
Provide me with the strength to
encounter whatever is to come, that I be brave in peril, constant in
tribulation, emperate in anger and always prepared for any change of
fortune.
Enable me to give a smile instead
of a frown, a cheerful kindly word instead of harshness and
bitterness.
Make me sympathetic to the grief
of others, realizing that there are hidden woes in every life, no
matter how exalted.
Keep me forever serene in every
activity of life, neither unduly boastful nor given to the more
serious sin of self-depreciation.
In sorrow, may my soul be
uplifted by the thought that if there were no shadow, there would be
no sunshine.
In failure, preserve my
faith.
In success, keep me
humble.
Steady me to do the full share of
my work and more, as well as I can, and when that is done, stop me,
pay what wages Thou wilt, and permit me to say, from a loving heart,
a grateful Amen.
HEAVENLY FATHER WALK WITH US
TODAY SO THAT WE MAY HEAR YOUR FOOTSTEPS, TALK WITH US TODAY SO THAT
WE MAY HEED YOUR COUNSEL.
Have a wonderful day chock full
of choices, my friends.
