Daily Gospel Reflection for February 7, 2023

Join us as we reflect, ponder, and pray together inspired by today's Gospel.

Today's Gospel: Mark 7:1-13

I have to admit that, when I first laid eyes upon this reading, I was reminded of my mother’s strong admonition to wash my hands before every meal. Perhaps your own mother or guardian’s voice seems to be echoing through this reading as well. You can almost hear her calling out from the kitchen with her pre-dinner warning. But in this Scriptural passage Jesus is not arguing against cleanliness, nor is He calling out mothers as Pharisees.

Rather, He is pointing out the hypocrisy of being so obsessed with rules and regulations that we fail to give God our hearts. We cannot be so focused on human traditions that we neglect to abide by the Almighty’s commandments. For Scripture is not simply a rulebook, but a love letter from the Lord. He is inviting us to a deeper relationship with Himself—a relationship which will lead to a greater love for our fellow man and woman.

There is truth in the old saying that cleanliness is next to godliness—but the most important type of cleanliness involves purity of heart. For out of the heart the mouth speaks and, invariably, our spoken words lead to action—good or bad. To remain faithful to the Lord we must clean out the debris that has accumulated around our hearts, that prevents us from living our lives fully committed to God.

Tradition and rules have their place in life, no question about it. In fact, all of us, especially children, need rules in order to keep us safe from harm. But the most critical guardrails for our lives are those represented by the commandments of God. And the greatest commands are to love God with our whole hearts and to love our neighbors as ourselves.

Ponder:

What debris has accumulated around my heart, keeping me from fully loving God and neighbor?

Pray:

Lord, please help me to keep my soul pure so that I can love as You love. Help me to find peace of heart.

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To remain faithful to the Lord we must clean out the debris that has accumulated around our hearts. #DailyGospel

Copyright 2023 Maria V. Gallagher