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From the responsorial psalm: "Trust in the LORD and do good, that you may dwell in the land and be fed in security. Take delight in the LORD, and he will grant you your heart's requests. Commit your life to the Lord, and he will help you.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark (9:30-37, today's readings)

Then he sat down, called the Twelve, and said to them, "If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all." Taking a child, he placed it in their midst, and putting his arms around it, he said to them, "Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but the One who sent me."

As Jesus travels with the disciples through Galilee, he tells them about his coming passion, death, and resurrection. Unable to understand him, they ask no questions but on the way to Capernaum discuss who among the disciples is the greatest. Once inside the house where they would stay, Jesus shares with them what true greatness means as his disciples: the first shall be last, and the last shall be first. The child from within the house that Jesus places before them is somehow closely related to the disciples, possibly a son or daughter or nephew or niece of one of the disciples. In receiving the child, Jesus teaches us what the love of a father for his children looks like as he speaks of his own Father and ours as the "One who sent me."

Father in heaven, teach me to put myself last of all today. In doing what is necessary today, help me look first to the needs of others even as I accomplish my tasks. Nothing extraordinary is likely to happen today as I try to act on being "the last of all and the servant of all." Yet, let me receive the gifts you give me today and not take my own agendas so seriously that I forget you, the giver of all that is good. The psalmist's prayer is to "trust in the LORD and do good." Give me the grace to take to heart this seemingly simple task today for the sake of your glory.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

From the responsorial psalm: "Blessed the man who follows not the counsel of the wicked, nor walks in the way of sinners, nor sits in the company of the insolent, but delights in the law of the LORD and meditates on his law day and night. Blessed are they who hope in the Lord."

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Luke 6:17, 20-26, today's readings)

And raising his eyes toward his disciples he said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for the kingdom of God is yours."

Jesus speaks to the disciples and great numbers of people. They come, as Luke tells us, from Judea and Jerusalem and the wealthy Phoenician regions of Tyre and Sidon. Jesus shares the Beatitudes with both Gentiles and Jews, rich and poor, the satisfied and the hungry. In speaking to them face to face on a level plain as the Just Judge, he raises the lowly and brings to the level of dust the wealthy. The poor are not satisfied in their hunger, and the rich are not satiated by what has brought them to prosperity. The words of Jesus are not mere observations on the state of humanity; his words level mountains. In the Communion antiphon for today, we hear how his words take root and fulfill us, at whatever level we stand in life: "They ate and had their fill, and what they craved the Lord gave them; they were not disappointed in what they craved."

God, help me learn to be satisfied less with the food the world offers and rely more and more on the sustenance you provide. Jeremiah reminds me that to stay rooted in you, I am not to put my trust in human beings, in the strength of flesh. Instead, he says, "Blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD, whose hope is the LORD." The kingdom of God is here and yet to be. Give me the grace and wisdom not to be filled now, not to pursue consolation as an end in itself, but even in the midst of difficulty and suffering to "be glad and leap for joy" at the true food you give me today. Blessed are they who hope in the Lord!

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

From the responsorial psalm: "Who can ascend the mountain of the LORD? or who may stand in his holy place? He whose hands are sinless, whose heart is clean, who desires not what is vain. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face."

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Lk 17:1-6)

"Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he wrongs you seven times in one day and returns to you seven times saying, 'I am sorry,' you should forgive him."

Jesus recognizes the inevitability of sin. In the same breath, he warns the disciples of the dire consequences of causing "one of these little ones" to sin—that it would be better for him if a millstone were put around his neck and that he be tossed into the sea. Although we choose to sin through free will, our brothers and sisters and all of those around us can lead us into the temptation of sin, whether through counsel, command, consent, provocation, or praise. About these very same people, Jesus says, "Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him." Forgiveness calls for repentance from the offender countless times as they say sorry, yet this might never come to be. The Apostles on hearing this, perhaps recognizing the high bar Jesus places before them, ask him to increase their faith. And it only takes a little—faith the size of a mustard seed to be an instrument of God's mercy. Faith in the mercy of the Father allowed Jesus to say from the cross, "Father, forgive them, they know not what they do."

God, help me dwell today on the Gospel and on the first reading. Saint Paul describes a blameless steward who is in service to you: "blameless, not arrogant, not irritable, not a drunkard, not aggressive, not greedy for sordid gain, but hospitable, a lover of goodness, temperate, just, holy, and self-controlled, holding fast to the true message." Arrogance, irritability, aggression, and other sins do not call for acceptance and approval but forgiveness for those who repent of them. Guide me Lord; make me blameless and a lover of goodness, holding fast to you in faith. Teach me to forgive even those who wound without knowing what they do. Saint Martin of Tours, pray for us!

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

From the responsorial psalm: "The LORD keeps faith forever, secures justice for the oppressed, gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets captives free. Praise the Lord, my soul!"

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark (Mk 12:38-44)

Calling his disciples to himself, he said to them, "Amen, I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the other contributors to the treasury. For they have all contributed from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has contributed all she had, her whole livelihood."

Jesus warns the crowds of the scribes. They seek attention by the way they behave and dress, and they seek out places of honor in the marketplace and at banquets. And then Jesus says something else that seems to stand apart from the rest of what he says. He tells the crowds, "They devour the houses of widows and as a pretext recite lengthy prayers." As he sits down opposite the treasury, Jesus observes rich people putting in large amounts of money. Then a widow approaches and puts in two small coins worth a few cents. Jesus contrasts the action of the scribes who swallow up the property of healthy widows and lengthen their prayers in an attempt at restitution with the widow herself who gives out of her whole livelihood. The widow is an image and example of God's boundless generosity.

God, help me be generous today with the gifts you gave me first. In the first reading, the widow serves Elijah out of her extreme poverty. Yet, Elijah tells her, "Do not be afraid." In serving others, the widows in the first reading, the responsorial psalm, and the Gospel all receive new life from you who sustained them and raised them up. Throughout the day, guide me toward opportunities to meet someone in their poverty and be generous in your gift of mercy as you are generous to me. Lord, you give food to the hungry and set captives free!

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

From the responsorial psalm: "God is our refuge and our strength, an ever-present help in distress. Therefore, we fear not, though the earth be shaken and mountains plunge into the depths of the sea. The waters of the river gladden the city of God, the holy dwelling of the Most High!"

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John (Jn 2:13-22)

Jesus answered and said to them, "Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up." The Jews said, "This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and you will raise it up in three days?" But he was speaking about the temple of his Body.

The Jewish Passover is near, and many pilgrims travel to Jerusalem to worship at the temple. As Jesus enters the temple area, he finds people selling oxen, sheep, and doves. Money changers are seated there. In response, with a whip made of cords, he drives them all out and overturns the tables of the money changers. And he says to those selling doves, "Take these out of here, and stop making my Father's house a marketplace." John makes clear what would otherwise be puzzling. Jesus refers to the "temple of his Body" in the same way Saint Paul refers to the Spirit that dwells in God's holy temple: "Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?" Where the Spirit of God dwells—our bodies—is not the place for a noisy, cluttered exchange of things and ideas but a quieted dwelling place to receive the person of Jesus.

God, as a way to understand the Gospel, let me consider what today's feast represents for the Church and what it means to me. The dedication feast calls attention to the Church on earth as the Body of Christ and a sign of what is yet to be in our eternal dwelling place in heaven. The disciples recognized the zeal of Jesus in the temple area but only after the resurrection came to understand that the temple of the Body would need to die and rise before we also could be restored to eternal life. The Gospel acclamation says, "I have chosen and consecrated this house, says the Lord, that my name may be there forever." All thanks and praise to you, Lord, that you have made me to be your holy dwelling place even as I long for my eternal home in the life of the world to come.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Image: Sailko, CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:San_giovanni_in_laterano,_interno,_presbiterio_01.jpg

From the responsorial psalm: "I rejoiced because they said to me, “We will go up to the house of the LORD.” And now we have set foot within your gates, O Jerusalem. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord."

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Lk 16:1-8)

"For the children of this world are more prudent in dealing with their own generation than the children of light.”

Spoken after telling the parable of the dishonest steward, Jesus identifies a contrast between the shrewd stewardship of worldly goods and the kind of stewardship Jesus calls us to exemplify as children of light, his followers. Jesus doesn't say that he approves of the dishonesty of the steward, but he recognizes his resourcefulness in a dire situation. What Jesus suggests to each of us as his sons and daughters who live in the light of faith is to be prudent as we care and nurture and preserve it. Our imperfect attempts meet God's perfect grace. "Whoever keeps the word of Christ," we hear in the Gospel acclamation, "the love of God is truly perfected in him." In a time of crisis, from what source do we draw strength to maintain and uphold our hope as exiles. Our true home is elsewhere. "Our citizenship," Saint Paul says, "is in heaven, and from it we also await a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ."

Father in heaven, you give every good gift. The choice to follow you is mine and is not imposed but is your gift of free will. Help me use the things of this world wisely even as I choose daily to nurture and maintain your gift of faith to bring forth your kingdom to the benefit of others. Give me the grace to be prudent—even shrewd—as I seek to live as an honest steward of all of your gifts. To be a child of light means to look to the source of light for guidance. With childlike faith, let me place my trust in you, my sole hope for preserving every good gift you give me. Jesus, I trust in you!

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

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From the responsorial psalm: "The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom should I fear? The LORD is my life’s refuge; of whom should I be afraid? The Lord is my light and my salvation."

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Lk 14:25-33)

"In the same way, everyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions
cannot be my disciple.”

Addressing the great crowds following him made up of individuals and family members traveling together, Jesus counts these among the possessions they need to renounce—that is, father, mother, wife, children, and brothers and sisters, and even oneself. Jesus says, “If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother, . . . he cannot be my disciple." It is not to live in fear but to rest in the Spirit of God if we place him first and by this come to know God through our own cross in following Christ, thereby gaining anew life and redemption. The parables Jesus shares with the crowd relate to spiritual discernment and planning, and the commitment to bring to fulfillment God's work in us. And without his grace, all the planning and action in the world is worth nothing.

God, help me consider the words of Saint Paul as they relate to the Gospel: "For God is the one who, for his good purpose, works in you both to desire and to work." Enliven my desire, Lord, to recognize my cross and do the work of following you as I carry it. With the help of your grace, let me be unafraid to renounce possessions and place you above all other relationships to things and people, even the ones closest to me. Let me see in sacrifices gain and not loss; more, not less. "I believe that I shall see the bounty of the LORD in the land of the living."

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

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From the responsorial psalm: "O LORD, my heart is not proud, nor are my eyes haughty; I busy not myself with great things, nor with things too sublime for me. In you, O Lord, I have found my peace."

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Lk 14:12-14)

"When you hold a lunch or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or sisters or your relatives or your wealthy neighbors, in case they may invite you back and you have repayment. Rather, when you hold a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous."

As a dinner guest of one of the leading Pharisees, Jesus speaks these words to his host. Although Luke doesn't say how he responds, we know that the criticism Jesus gives him gets at the heart of the reason the Pharisee held banquets for his guests. Does it look good in the eyes of the others? Does it impress the other guests at a banquet to see important guests. Does it inflate the ego of the host who delights in their awe? To participate in self-inflating reciprocity—to pay for honor and receive it in return for the sake of grandiosity—comes from deep dysfunction. Out of love for the people whose hearts he fashioned, Jesus tells them to stop. Instead, exit this game and open your home and your hearts to people who for whatever reason do not have the means of paying you back.

God, deepen my capacity to recognize the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. You put them daily in my field of view—those whose limitations may be physical but are more often mental or spiritual. In yesterday's Gospel, the words still echo in my mind: that you alone are the Lord and to love you with all my heart, with all my understanding, with all my strength, and to love my neighbor as myself. Help me, Lord, as I seek to love you and love my neighbor more completely. Yet, hearing the phrase "as myself" makes me realize that loving others does not mean you allow oneself to be a doormat. It means to live in the freedom of loving you through the inherent dignity as your child—a love we all carry inside us that seeks the well-being of others without compromising the common good. Saint Charles Borromeo, pray for us!

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

From the responsorial psalm: "I love you, O LORD, my strength, O LORD, my rock, my fortress, my deliverer. I love you, Lord, my strength."

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark (Mk 12:28b-34)

The scribe said to him, "Well said, teacher. You are right in saying, 'He is One and there is no other than he.' And 'to love him with all your heart, with all your understanding, with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself' is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

A scribe approaches Jesus, encouraged to hear more of what he says. The scribe asks Jesus which commandment is the most important of all. Jesus responds by quoting the Shema: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength." And he tells the scribe, the second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. In acknowledging the response Jesus gives, he affirms that loving God and one’s neighbor is more important than burnt offerings and sacrifices. Jesus tells him: "You are not far from the kingdom of God." And no one, Mark tells us, dared to ask Jesus any more questions. What does Jesus mean by telling the scribe he is not far from the kingdom of God, and what does it mean to be near to it?

God, help me understand the commandments not as legal ties that bind but your gift to allow a wholehearted response to your love. To love you with my whole heart, soul, mind, and strength is to begin to understand the love by which you loved me first. What other gift is acceptable to you, Lord, but my whole heart? I wonder at the words of Jesus to the scribe, why the scribe is "not far from the kingdom of God" when he seems to fully understand. Yet, I see my own distance from the kingdom when I fail altogether to love you and those around me. Give me the grace, Lord, to bring forth your kingdom in these two great commandments, not by my own doing but with the help of the Holy Spirit through Jesus Christ your Son.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

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From the responsorial psalm: "Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain wisdom of heart. Return, O LORD! How long? Have pity on your servants! In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge."

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark (Mark 8:1-10, today's readings)

His disciples answered him, "Where can anyone get enough bread to satisfy them here in this deserted place?" Still he asked them, "How many loaves do you have?" They replied, "Seven."

In this passage known as the Feeding of the Four Thousand, the words Jesus speaks are as profound as the miracle he performs. What was left over after the miracle also speaks of God's abundant mercy—seven basketsful of fragments. Aware of the physical needs of the crowd following him for three days, Jesus feels great compassion for them, and we hear him say, "My heart is moved with pity for the crowd." His care for them extends beyond their physical presence with him: "If I send them away hungry to their homes," Jesus says, "they will collapse on the way, and some of them have come a great distance." The great distance they have come is an expression of their desire to be with the Lord, to stay with him. All-knowing and ever merciful, Jesus not only supplies them with food to satisfy hunger but with the fulfillment of our deepest longings.

God, help me trust that you look to the needs of your people at all times with compassion and mercy. What I tend to think I need during the day turns out to be not a need at all but more the fulfillment of requirements I set for myself. Jesus looks out over the crowd and sees what they need and immediately provides for them. Let me put myself in the sometimes uncomfortable disposition to receive your mercy and be fed by you.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

From the responsorial psalm: “Who can ascend the mountain of the LORD? or who may stand in his holy place? One whose hands are sinless, whose heart is clean, who desires not what is vain. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 5:1-12a)

When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain, and after he had sat down, his disciples came to him. He began to teach them, saying: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.”

Today’s Solemnity of All Saints honors the men and women throughout the ages who lived a life of holiness. The Beatitudes reveal the roadmap—the guidelines Jesus gave to them and to all of us—to achieve sanctity. Each of the saints, a cloud of witnesses who intercede for us to the Father, lived out the Beatitudes as they accomplished his will. For each of the Beatitudes that is lived out, Jesus promises a reward now (“for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven”) and in the life of the world to come. “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the clean of heart, for they will see God. . . . Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.”

God, help me see in the Beatitudes a way of being and the goodness that follows. Each Beatitude is in itself a way to holiness and results in its natural end: to the merciful mercy will be shown; to peacemakers, peace as children of God; to the persecuted for the sake of Christ, the kingdom of heaven. In the first reading, John describes the great multitude of the saints in heaven as they cry out to you: “Salvation comes from our God, who is seated on the throne, and from the Lamb.” With the psalmist, in the company of all the holy men and women who have gone before us, I pray: “Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.” Bless me, Lord, as I hunger and thirst for the truth of your love. All you angels and saints, pray for us!

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

From the responsorial psalm: "My mercy and my fortress, my stronghold, my deliverer, My shield, in whom I trust, who subdues my people under me. Blessed be the Lord, my Rock!"

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Lk 13:31-35)

“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how many times I yearned to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were unwilling! Behold, your house will be abandoned. But I tell you, you will not see me until the time comes when you say, Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.”

To hear the Son of God say these words to his people--"I yearned to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings"--is to hear in the words of the Son the lovingkindness of the Father. A love such as this, where we are taken under its wings, is irresistible. Yet, Jesus knows the hardness of heart of Herod and others who want to see him destroyed, even as he performs healings today, tomorrow, and the following day, accomplishing his purpose in willingly accepting his passion and death to rise to glory in the resurrection.

God, give me the grace today to know peace in the confidence of your presence and loving care. Jesus is told to go away to preserve his life, but he ignores the fear and manipulation that Herod and the Pharisees are trying to exercise over him. Instead, Jesus says, "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord." Blessed is he who continues today, and tomorrow, and the following day unafraid and in confident obedience to the Father's will. Guide me, Lord, my mercy and my fortress. Blessed be the LORD, my rock!

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Perpetual adoration live stream Kolbe Shrine.

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From the responsorial psalm: "Blessed is he whose fault is taken away, whose sin is covered. Blessed the man to whom the LORD imputes not guilt, in whose spirit there is no guile. Blessed are those whose sins are forgiven."

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark (Mark 7:31-37, today's readings)

He took him off by himself away from the crowd. He put his finger into the man’s ears and, spitting, touched his tongue; then he looked up to heaven and groaned, and said to him, “Ephphatha!” (that is, “Be opened!”) And immediately the man’s ears were opened, his speech impediment was removed, and he spoke plainly.

The ears of the deaf man are opened because of the miracle Jesus performs but also because people bring the man to Jesus. Not in isolation, the man experiences the love of others who believe Jesus can restore his hearing and speech. In the first reading, the serpent finds and isolates Eve, effectively dividing her from the union she has with Adam and God and all of creation. In restoring the deaf man, Jesus doesn't merely undo what the evil one did in the Garden of Eden; he restores the man to wholeness in a foretaste of the new creation, the beatific vision in the life of the world to come. Mark tells us that the man's speech impediment was removed and that he spoke plainly. The plain speech that drives the evil one away is one word: Jesus.

God, let me see the peace that results from the work Jesus accomplished while on earth and the hope of eternal life in his passion, death, and resurrection. At creation, Lord, you said you found all that you had made very good. Jesus took the deaf man aside, away from others who loved and cared for him, in order to draw him into more intimate union with you. In opening his ears and lips, Jesus restores him to your plan for creation so that all may say of your glory, "He has done all things well." Open our hearts, O Lord, to listen to the words of your Son. Saints Cyril and Methodius, pray for us!

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

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From the responsorial psalm: "Behold, thus is the man blessed who fears the LORD. The LORD bless you from Zion: may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life. Blessed are those who fear the Lord."

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark (Mark 7:31-37,today's readings)

The woman was a Greek, a Syrophoenician by birth, and she begged him to drive the demon out of her daughter. He said to her, "Let the children be fed first. For it is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs." She replied and said to him, "Lord, even the dogs under the table eat the children's scraps." Then he said to her, "For saying this, you may go. The demon has gone out of your daughter."

Wherever he goes, Jesus cannot escape notice, even among the Gentiles. People come to him from all sides, as the woman in today's Gospel does for the sake of her daughter. In responding to the woman, Jesus refers to the claim of the Jews that they first receive his ministry as God's chosen ones. But for the mother who sees the suffering of her daughter, that claim does nothing to hold her back. Jesus gives her the opportunity to demonstrate the depth of her faith expressed in desperate need. Similarly, in the first reading from Genesis, we see the dignity of Adam and Eve standing before God in complete reliance on him, both naked yet feeling no shame. Jesus invites us to come to him with the same dignity, in complete recognition of all he can do for us in his mercy as our Lord and creator.

God, just as the woman approached Jesus, aware of her otherness but in great need, I ask for the grace to do the same. In willing to do anything to restore her daughter's health, the mother had heard of Jesus and simply fell at his feet on meeting him. Help me today put to work the exemplary persistent faith of the woman and her holy fear and reverence as she knelt before you. At creation, "The man and his wife were both naked, yet they felt no shame." In humility and childlike trust, let me remember to come to you throughout the day, to come with persistence, and to plead that your will—which is love—be done for me and others. Blessed are those who fear the Lord!

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

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From the responsorial psalm: "Bless the LORD, O my soul! O LORD, my God, you are great indeed! You are clothed with majesty and glory, robed in light as with a cloak. O bless the Lord, my soul!"

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark (Mark 7:14-23,today's readings)

“But what comes out of the man, that is what defiles him. From within the man, from his heart, come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly. All these evils come from within and they defile.”

After the Pharisees criticize the disciples of Jesus for not following Jewish traditions of purification, Jesus tells the disciples, "Nothing that enters one from from outside can defile that person." From the heart come a host of evil thoughts and actions, extending all the way back to original sin in the Garden of Eden. What defiles, Jesus tells us, is not what enters the stomach but what enters the heart and comes from within. This is why baptism and repentance are necessary to restore us to God, because God restores us to the truth. The Gospel acclamation for today is: "Your word, O Lord, is truth; consecrate us in the truth." What we once took for ourselves from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, Jesus gives us abundantly through the sacraments—the embodiment of his passion, death, and resurrection.

God, in recognition that what defiles comes from within, flood me with your grace and mercy today. Left to myself, I have nothing; you are the source of every good gift. The vices that come from my heart have no place to hide in the dark but are scattered by the light of your face. Help me call to mind that after looking on everything you made, you found it very good. Be with me today, Lord.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

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