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"Every action of our lives touches on some chord that will vibrate in eternity."
- Edwin Hubbel Chapin (1814-1880) ““One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in
much.”
- Luke 16:10 (Be attentive to the “small things” today. They are where life is lived and they have consequences beyond our imagining.)
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1 Kings 8:22-23,
27-30
Psalm 84:3, 4, 5 and 10, 11 Mark 7:1-13 The Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered round Jesus, and they noticed that some of his disciples were eating with unclean hands, that is, without washing them. For the Pharisees, and the Jews in general, follow the tradition of the elders and never eat without washing their arms as far as the elbow; and on returning from the market place they never eat without first
sprinkling themselves. There are also many other observances which have been handed down to them concerning the washing of cups and pots and bronze dishes. So these Pharisees and scribes asked him, ‘Why do your disciples not respect the tradition of the elders but eat their food with unclean hands?’ He answered, ‘It was of you hypocrites that Isaiah so rightly prophesied in this passage of scripture: This people honours me only with lip-service,
while their hearts
are far from me.
The worship they offer me is worthless,
the doctrines they teach are only human regulations. You put aside the commandment of God to cling to human traditions.’ And he said to them, ‘How ingeniously you get round the commandment of God in order to preserve your own tradition! For Moses said: Do your duty to your father and your mother, and, Anyone who curses father or mother must be put to death. But you say, “If a man says to his
father or mother: Anything I have that I might have used to help you is Corban (that is, dedicated to God), then he is forbidden from that moment to do anything for his father or mother.” In this way you make God’s word null and void for the sake of your tradition which you have handed down. And you do many other things like
this.’
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Reflection on the Scriptures
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If we listen to God's word with faith and reverence, it will both enlighten our mind and purify our heart - thus enabling us to better understand how he wants us to love and obey him. The Lord invites us to draw near to him and to feast at his banquet table. Do you approach with a clean heart and mind? Ask the Lord to cleanse and renew you with the purifying fire of his Holy Spirit. Lord Jesus, let the fire of your Holy
Spirit cleanse my mind and my heart that I may love you purely and serve you worthily.
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The Interior Castle (or, The Mansions), by St. Teresa of Avila Benedictines of Stanbrook translation. 1921.. Paperback, Hardcover Kindle, Audio Book.
https://amzn.to/41RmJFb THE FIFTH MANSIONS Chapter Four Further explanation of the same subject; explains this prayer, the importance of being on one's guard, as the devil eagerly desires to turn souls back from the right path. 3. O Christian souls! you whom God has brought thus far! I implore you for His dear sake not to grow careless, but to avoid all occasions of sin; you are not strong enough yet to undergo temptation, as you will be after the espousals
which take place in the next mansion. Here the betrothed are, as they say, only acquainted by sight, [202] and the devil will spare no pains to oppose and prevent their nuptials. Afterwards, when he sees the Bride is wholly given to her Bridegroom, he is afraid to interfere, having learnt by experience that if he molests her, while he loses much, she will gain greatly in merit. 4. I can assure you, my daughters, [203] that I have known people far advanced in
the spiritual life who had reached this state of prayer yet whom the devil reclaimed by his subtlety and wiles: as I have often said, all hell leagues together against such souls because the loss of one of them entails the perdition of many more, as Satan is well aware. If we considered how many people God draws to Himself by means of one, we should praise Him fervently. Think of the multitudes converted by the martyrs or by one young maiden like St. Ursula! Again, of how many victims the evil
one was deprived by St. Dominic, St. Francis, and other founders of religious orders. How many more he loses, even now, through Father Ignatius [Loyola], who founded the Company [of Jesus]! As we read their lives, we learn that they received such graces from God. How was this great good done except by their efforts not to forfeit, through any fault of theirs, these divine espousals? Oh, my daughters, how willing our Lord is to grant us the same graces! In fact, there is even more urgent need now
for persons to prepare for such favours, since there are fewer who care for His honour. We love ourselves too much and are too prudent to give up any of our rights. What a deception! May God in His mercy give us light, lest we sink into such darkness.
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