St. Augustine: "Clean up your heart"

Liturgical readings


Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-8
Psalm 15
James 1:17-18, 21b-22, 27
Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23

"All these evils come from within and render a man impure."


In passages of Leviticus, the Hebrew tribes were prohibited to eat animals that were specified as unclean. This tradition of clean and unclean (which also extended to other situations and not just food) has been handed down from generation to generation. The Pharisees in the time of Jesus made the people observe these traditions, but neglected to teach the people the importance of interior purification. They overemphasized external rituals and neglected the path to a "clean heart". And this is what the Lord did not like His followers to do. For Jesus, it is also and more important to be clean within.


This interior process of purification emphasized by Jesus has also been handed down to generations of Christians in the history of the Church - especially in religious life. One of the best guides for this is St. Augustine. Augustine says that vices and sins cloud "the eyes of our heart", making it difficult to see the good well. We are called to take the painful (but healing) step of renewing our faith, of making a leap into the Good, hoping to see the light amidst the darkness around us (cf. St. Augustine's Sermon #53). Vices that stand in our way should be swept away before we can practice virtue. St. Augustine's advice rings out clearly for us today: "clean up your heart as much as you can! Work at it so that God may come and help you prepare the place where He wants to stay."


It has always been a practice in the Church to examine one's conscience by reviewing all that one did during the whole day before retiring for sleep. Taking time for silent prayer, we can review the disposition of our hearts and see what actions flowed from it. Doing this helps us to examine our souls and see where we are lacking in virtue and how we are to practice it more. This practice of examining one's conscience at the end of the day is a classic spiritual exercise for greater self-knowledge and a knowledge of God's grace acting in our lives. If we begin this discipline then we can work on our faults and imperfections and avoid the paths that lead to vice and sin. Perseverance in prayer and the practice of virtue, most especially to love God above all, and to love Him in others and in ourselves, is what the Christian life and community living is all about.

"The words Jesus spoke are spirit and life."

        
Liturgical readings


Joshua 24:1-2a, 15-17, 18b
Psalm 34
Ephesians 5:21-32
John 6:60-69

"The words Jesus spoke are spirit and life."


We can understand why Jesus had a difficult time convincing His own disciples about giving His Flesh as food. It was difficult for Jesus to convince a people whose context of understanding was still rooted in their Mosaid Law - the Law Moses gave them in the Old Covenant. In this Old Covenant, the followers of Jesus and the others with them, understood as "food" only the food which their own Jewish Law permits them to eat. And that is stipulated in the Old Testament. Jesus, a wise teacher, instead of referring to the laws on food in the Scriptures, pointed to His own words as Spirit and life. He wanted His disciples to understand that His Body and Blood are nourishment for eternal life. But they still did not understand and left. They thought only of "perishable" food rather than the food that leads to eternal life. So the people left. Only the Twelve remained.


With the gift of the Eucharist, we understand now how Jesus words are indeed spirit and life. These point to the words of the readings and the gospel. And the prayers of the Mass also gives life to these readings. They help us situate our own lives in the life and Person of Christ, the Word-made-flesh - the Sacrament we receive in Communion. It is the Sacrament that brings the nourishment we need for our souls. It is in the Eucharist that our souls are healed, our spirits are ennobled once more, and our hearts are encouraged to live the Christian life and its principles. With a renewed sense of Life through the Body and Blood of Jesus, even sufferings and losses can have meaning - strengthening us against unbelief, despair or indifference. God's mercy in the Body and Blood of Christ blesses us and gives us new hope.


We are now called to listen well to the Scriptures being read in the Mass. These lead us to understand better what Jesus had been teaching His followers and all the people who listened to Him in Biblical times. Listening is easy if we learn to focus on what is really important. Some helps to this discipline is to know how to keep still and be silent. When we have learned to silence the inner noise within us, then it would be easier to listen to the Word proclaimed in the Mass. Maybe this is one reason why many of Jesus' unbelieving disciples protested and left. They did not know how to keep still nor did they remain silent; they did not listen so as to understand. But, the Twelve did. They only spoke when Jesus questioned them. The hearts of Simon Peter and his companions showed a predisposition to listen. We can learn much from their example.

"The man who feeds on this Bread shall live forever."

        
Liturgical readings


Proverbs 9:1-6
Psalm 34
Ephesians 5:15-20
John 6:51-58

"The man who feeds on this Bread shall live forever."


At the beginning of Jesus' ministry, He called the people to believe in the gospel and reform their lives. His promise of eternal life has a condition: we believe in His word, reform our lives and follow Him. The work of reforming our lives and amending it, according to Christian values, also needs food. This is why Jesus instituted the Sacrament of the Eucharist. It is here that we receive God's Word, and the Bread that nourishes our soul. It is the Word of God in the Mass and the Sacrament of the Eucharist that lightens up our path to God once more, so that our steps are clearly directed toward living the Christian life where we live and work.


The Word and the Bread in the Eucharist gives that strength and quality of faith need to make life truly worth living. For in the spiritual journey, this faith can get tested and tried with so many situations our human condition can give. Maybe one's faith may not be tested and tried as great as that of biblical character Job, but it can nevertheless feel like being "crushed to the ground". Even with such experiences, we always have access to the Sacrament of Reconciliation and the Eucharist. Despite the struggles we all have to go through, Jesus in the Word and the Sacraments, in the priest and our community, is always there for us. It is us who oftentimes sometimes forget that these resources are always there for us. We only need to take that effort to go to Confession and to go to Mass regularly again.


Life is fleeting. And times flies fast. Those who experienced death in its many forms and had time to reflect on the One thing necessary are fortunate. When the days of adversity arrive again, they know the best Person to run to: Jesus in His Presence in the Sacraments and in the Catholic community. We only have to look to the example of Christ. Though He was God, his humanity had to undergo the pain of the Cross and the mortality humanity has to experience: death. But He showed us the way of faith in God. And because of His faith and obedience, the Father brought Him back to life through the power of the Holy Spirit. It is this quality of faith that we are called to have. We can have this same quality of faith if we remember to be humble, call to God in prayer and in the Mass, and do something about our situation in life. The Bread that we receive in the Mass gives us that faith to "live forever" in God.