Reading 1 1 Kgs 8:22-23, 27-30
in the presence of the whole community of Israel,
and stretching forth his hands toward heaven,
he said, “LORD, God of Israel,
there is no God like you in heaven above or on earth below;
you keep your covenant of mercy with your servants
who are faithful to you with their whole heart.
“Can it indeed be that God dwells on earth?
If the heavens and the highest heavens cannot contain you,
how much less this temple which I have built!
Look kindly on the prayer and petition of your servant, O LORD, my God,
and listen to the cry of supplication which I, your servant,
utter before you this day.
May your eyes watch night and day over this temple,
the place where you have decreed you shall be honored;
may you heed the prayer which I, your servant, offer in this place.
Listen to the petitions of your servant and of your people Israel
which they offer in this place.
Listen from your heavenly dwelling and grant pardon.”
Responsorial Psalm PS 84:3, 4, 5 and 10, 11
My soul yearns and pines
for the courts of the LORD.
My heart and my flesh
cry out for the living God.
R. How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God!
Even the sparrow finds a home,
and the swallow a nest
in which she puts her young—
Your altars, O LORD of hosts,
my king and my God!
R. How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God!
Blessed they who dwell in your house!
continually they praise you.
O God, behold our shield,
and look upon the face of your anointed.
R. How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God!
I had rather one day in your courts
than a thousand elsewhere;
I had rather lie at the threshold of the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of the wicked.
R. How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God!
Alleluia Ps 119:36, 29b
R. Alleluia, alleluia.Incline my heart, O God, to your decrees;
and favor me with your law.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel Mk 7:1-13
gathered around Jesus,
they observed that some of his disciples ate their meals
with unclean, that is, unwashed, hands.
(For the Pharisees and, in fact, all Jews,
do not eat without carefully washing their hands,
keeping the tradition of the elders.
And on coming from the marketplace
they do not eat without purifying themselves.
And there are many other things that they have traditionally observed,
the purification of cups and jugs and kettles and beds.)
So the Pharisees and scribes questioned him,
“Why do your disciples not follow the tradition of the elders
but instead eat a meal with unclean hands?”
He responded,
“Well did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites,
as it is written:
This people honors me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me;
In vain do they worship me,
teaching as doctrines human precepts.
You disregard God’s commandment but cling to human tradition.”
He went on to say,
“How well you have set aside the commandment of God
in order to uphold your tradition!
For Moses said,
Honor your father and your mother,
and Whoever curses father or mother shall die.
Yet you say,
‘If someone says to father or mother,
“Any support you might have had from me is qorban”’
(meaning, dedicated to God),
you allow him to do nothing more for his father or mother.
You nullify the word of God
in favor of your tradition that you have handed on.
And you do many such things.”
PURITY
"Why do Your disciples not follow the tradition of our ancestors, but instead take food without purifying their hands?" –Mark 7:5
The Pharisees and experts in the Law were very concerned about purification. They scrupulously washed their hands, food, cups, jugs, and kettles (Mk 7:3-4). They were centuries ahead of modern science, which eventually discovered that antiseptic conditions prevent the spread of infection.
Jesus agreed with the Jewish religious leaders on the importance of purification. However, He taught that the purification of hands, food, and utensils was not nearly as important as the purification of our relationships. Jesus brought up the example of children dedicating their wealth to God to make it unavailable for supporting their parents (Mk 7:11-12). Jesus intimated that these child-parent relationships needed to be purified of such things as selfishness, greed, bitterness, and unforgiveness.
We spend thousands of dollars on washers and dryers to purify our clothes and dishes. We spend billions on sewage systems, street cleaning, and the Environmental Protection Agency. Yet how concerned are we about purifying our relationships? Do we love the Lord with a pure, repentant heart, uncompromised with the world? Is there anyone that we haven't forgiven? Are our relationships purified of selfishness, lust, and bitterness? Do we seek purification through the Sacrament of Reconciliation? Are we "consecrated by the Spirit to a life of obedience to Jesus Christ and purification with His blood?" (1 Pt 1:2)
| PRAYER: | Father, make me pure as Jesus is pure (1 Jn 3:3). |
| PROMISE: | "May Your eyes watch night and day over this Temple, the place where You have decreed You shall be honored; may You heed the prayer which I, Your servant, offer in this place." –1 Kgs 8:29 |
| PRAISE: | George forgave his alcoholic father. |
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