We must not be disturbed by our imperfections, since for us perfection consists in fighting against them.
- St. Francis de Sales
(What imperfection would you most like to eliminate during the coming year? What is your plan for doing so?)
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HEB 3:7-14; PS 95:6-7C, 8-9, 10-11
MK 1:40-45
A leper came to him and kneeling down begged him and said,
"If you wish, you can make me clean."
Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand,
touched the leper, and said to him,
"I do will it. Be made clean."
The leprosy left him immediately, and he was made clean.
Then, warning him sternly, he dismissed him at once.
Then he said to him, "See that you tell no one anything,
but go, show yourself to the priest
and offer for your cleansing what Moses prescribed;
that will be proof for them."
The man went away and began to publicize the whole matter.
He spread the report abroad
so that it was impossible for Jesus to enter a town openly.
He remained outside in deserted places,
and people kept coming to him from everywhere.
Reflection on the Scriptures |
What is the status of our hearts? Have we allowed our hearts to become hardened? That question requires some deep, honest reflection for me. I love my church family and see Sunday morning as the high point of my week. But is that enough? What does a hardened heart look like and how can we recognize it in ourselves?
Today’s readings along with the life of Saint Anthony, Abbot, clearly tell me that simply hearing the word and living my life among fellow believers is NOT ENOUGH. The message in Hebrews reminds us how important our hearts are to God. The Jewish people certainly appeared to be faithful with their many rituals and sacrifices, but all of those actions could not hide the true status of their
hearts. God knew their hearts and punished them severely for their “evil and unfaithful hearts”. The responsorial Psalms continues this warning against hardening our hearts.
So where do we turn to discover how to determine the status of our heart. As with everything else in life, the only true source for this answer is God’s word. In our Gospel reading today from Mark, we see Jesus giving us the answer – do God’s will. That simple, that profound, that challenging ! Jesus’ life on earth was spent responding in love to the world around him. He
provided the clear, powerful answer to developing and maintaining a heart for God.
- Larry Hopp
Revelations of Divine Love
- by Julian of Norwich
Fourteenth Revelation, Chapter 54
“Faith is nought else but a right understanding, with true belief and sure trust, of our Being: that we are in God, and God is in us: Whom we see not”
And I saw no difference between God and our Substance: but as it were all God; and yet mine understanding took that our Substance is in God: that is to say, that God is God, and our Substance is a creature in God. For the Almighty Truth of the Trinity is our Father: for He made us and keepeth us in Him; and the deep Wisdom of the Trinity is our Mother, in Whom we are all enclosed; the high Goodness of the Trinity is our Lord,
and in Him we are enclosed, and He in us. We are enclosed in the Father, and we are enclosed in the Son, and we are enclosed in the Holy Ghost. And the Father is enclosed in us, and the Son is enclosed in us, and the Holy Ghost is enclosed in us: Almightiness, All-Wisdom, All-Goodness: one God, one Lord.
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