A PURE HEART CREATE FOR ME O GOD (Genesis 2:4-9,15-17/Psalm 194:1-2,27-30/Mark 7:14-23)

A PURE HEART CREATE FOR ME, O GOD
(Homily for Wednesday 13 February, 2019)

One of the basic functions of a good housekeeper is to see that the house is always clean and likewise a good Church attendant. He/she who works continuously to see that the Church, the sanctuary and the altar are always clean.

St. Paul in his first letter to the Corinthians reminds us that our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit (1Cor 19:20), and the center of this temple is the heart. So, it is our daily duty to see that we keep this temple in us (our heart) always clean, guard it jealously from the evil one who fights constantly to destroy this temple. Indeed, the greatest thing we can do for our bodies and hearts is to make them into a temple for God’s Spirit. And we do this by placing our trust and faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior. The moment we do this; the indwelling of God’s Spirit takes place in us (1 Corinthians 12:13).

In the gospel of today, we hear our Lord Jesus teaching the crowd and His Apostles about what defiles a person and what do not. He made it clear that it is from within, from the heart that evil thoughts and all kinds of vices originate and emanate. Saying repeatedly that the food we take does not defile us but what comes from within renders us unclean.

This implies that we have to keep our hearts always busy with the things of God, so as not to give the devil the chance to take possession of it. As we normally say that an idle mind is the devil’s workshop and we can as well say here that a heart that is devoid of God's word is sending a signal to the enemy the devil to come and dwell in it. Once the devil pitches its tent in a heart, what that heart produces is exactly what Christ pointed out in the gospel of today.

From the gospel of today, our hearts always need to be tamed, trained and controlled if not, we can see that the same heart that produces good fruits and virtues can as well if not properly handled and always fed with the word of God be a seat of production of all kinds of vices, evils and wickedness.

Therefore, brothers and sisters let us always be vigilant and work hard to keep our hearts always clean because when we do, our hearts will be a good place for the dwelling of the Holy Spirit, a center for the production of all kinds of virtues: love, faith, hope, kindness, forgiveness, care, cleanliness, purity, honesty, justice, generosity, gentleness, humility, respect, sincerity, trust, self-control, service, tolerance and peace.

Let Us Pray: Lord Jesus, give me grace to work hard always to keep my heart pure so that I will be worthy to do your work and win souls for you. Amen.