“It is not what enters one’s mouth that defiles the man;
Matthew 15:11
but what comes out of the mouth is what defiles one.”
Reflection
The Pharisees and scribes ask Jesus why his disciples break tradition with not washing their hands when eating. Jesus tells the crowds that what defiles a man is what comes out of the mouth, not what goes in. The Pharisees are offended, and Jesus further says they are blind guides of the blind.
The Pharisees were so caught up in a technicality of the law that they were easily offended at what Jesus told them. What enters into the body doesn’t defile, but what comes out does – meaning your words and actions. We do not grow in virtue by neglecting how our speech and actions affect others and our own salvation.
Of course what we intake, whether food or media or ideologies, will affect us. But it only does so to the measure we let it, and what is more important is how we let the things we consume change our attitudes, behavior, and faith. If we begin to stray away from Christ with our actions and words, we should consider what is making us do so. Reflect on what you are harboring in your heart – good, evil, virtue, vice. How is God calling you to greater holiness and repentance?
Saint of the Day
St. John Vianney: 1786 – 1859
| “It is always springtime in the heart that loves God.” St. John Vianney |
The Healing Word 