Fr. Bob - Daily losing our souls
I once heard a line that goes like this. “We can do all the right things all day long but daily be losing our souls.” And then, “We can do holy things all day long without becoming holy.” How is that possible? Why would that be? Let’s check out the Gospel story for today. It’s from Mark 7. The Pharisees and Scribes are watching Jesus and the disciples very carefully. They want to come up with something that would have some dirt on Jesus. You see, Jesus is saying things that could call into question their need to be the final authority on religious matters. Well, sure enough they catch the disciples doing it wrong. The disciples forget to purify themselves before they eat. Purifying one’s hands was one of the religious customs that anyone who took their religion seriously was expected to do. So, the Pharisees and the scribes confront Jesus. “Why do your disciples eat without first purifying their hands as the law prescribes?” As he so often does Jesus does not answer their question directly. Instead, he quotes Isaih. “This people honors (God) with their lips but their hearts are far from him.” And then Jesus turns to the crowd. “Hear me, all of you! Nothing that enters a person from outside can defile that person. It’s what comes from within the heart that defiles that person.” What are those things that defile us from within? Where do we see it? We see it in the mean-spirited attitude the Pharisees and Scribes had toward Jesus. And we see it in an arrogance that says, “I’m better than you because I’m doing it right and you’re doing it wrong.” Doing all the right things all day long but daily losing our soul, that’s how it happens. On the outside it all looks good. But on the inside, nothing changes except the hardening of our heart. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Keep doing whatever spiritual practice you find life giving. It could be the rosary, Eucharistic Adoration, or a walk through the woods. Keep it up. Those are good things. But what if in addition to your spiritual practices you were to make a spiritual practice of withholding your tongue when you want to complain about someone? What if you were to make your spiritual practice giving someone a little slack when you want to come down hard on them. And then, unlike the harsh judgment of the Pharisees and Scribes let all these spiritual practices move you to greater humility and compassion. Then, rather than have to worry about being one of those who are doing all the right things all day long but daily losing our souls we can be one of those who are daily finding their soul. All of this because we are allowing God’s love to transform us from within.
