1 Kings 10:1-10 / Mark 7:14-23
The Queen speaks about Solomon: “Your people are fortunate to have you.” “Not until I became a mother did I understand how much my mother sacrificed for me; not until I became a mother did I understand how hurt my mother was when I disobeyed; not until I became a mother did I understand how proud my mother was when I achieved; not until I became a mother did I understand how much my mother loved me.” Victoria Farnsworth.
The words of Victoria Farnsworth about her mother and the words of the Queen of Sheba about King Solomon add up to the same thing: We often take for granted the people around us. We often need an outsider to make us aware of how fortunate we are to have such people.****
Of the people in our life, is there anyone we have been taking too much for granted? What could we do to show our appreciation to that person? “My mother was dead for five years before I knew that I loved her very much.” Lillian Heilman, The Unfinished Woman
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One of the basic needs of mankind is food. In fact, it may even be the most fundamental need of all creatures. Flowing from that need, food has also become a sign of communion. Hence, there are such things like communion sacrifices or ritual food.
Our partaking of Holy Communion is a profound example of a communion sacrifice and a ritual food in which we come into communion with the Lord Jesus. But many religions also have dietary laws in which some types of food are forbidden and hence, would render a practitioner of a particular religion ritually unclean. This was the context of the discussion about food in today's gospel. Yet Jesus also made a very radical teaching about food. He pronounced all foods clean. He also pointed out that what is really unclean is actually what comes out from the heart.
As Jesus said, it is from within, from men's hearts, that evil intentions emerge: fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, malice, deceit, indecency, envy, slander, pride, folly. All these evil things come from within and make a man unclean.
As we participate in the Eucharist, we also prepare ourselves to come into communion with Jesus. So what is the state of our hearts? If there is sin, have we gone for the Sacrament of Reconciliation so as to receive forgiveness and healing and be in a state of grace to receive Jesus the Lord. Let us remember that God and sin cannot exist together in our hearts.
We come to the Eucharist not just to consume a piece of wafer but to receive the Lord Jesus. May our hearts be pure so that our lives will be holy.
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Wednesday of 5th Week - LITURGY
PURE AND SINCERE HEARTS
Introduction
The Old Testament heaps praise on Solomon as the typical wise man, who understood the meaning of life, of the world, of right and wrong. People came to him from distant countries to seek his advice. And yet, as we know, in later life at least, his wisdom was not powerful enough to keep him humbly oriented towards God. His heart became divided.
Divided too, were the hearts of the Pharisees, as Jesus points out in the Gospel; their interior attitude did not correspond to their outward practices. The question of pure/impure was very important for the early Church, as it was one of the strongest traditions of the Jews and a point of contention for them. Hence, the Christians coming from Jewry asked themselves whether they could eat from the same table with non-Jews. According to Mark, in the light of creation that sees all foods as created good and pure, in the kingdom the rules about food are abolished.
Opening Prayer
Father, God of the ever-new covenant,
you have tied us to yourself
with leading strings of everlasting love;
the words you speak to us are spirit and life.
May your Spirit make us look at the commandments
not as a set of observances.
May they move us to serve you
not in a slavish way, but as your sons and daughters
who love you and whom you have set free
through your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Commentary
King Solomon’s reputation for wisdom and insight has reached foreign courts—as far away as the queen of Sheba. The queen comes to see if his competence can be verified, bringing with her all manner of good things: gold, spices, and precious stones. The queen is not disappointed. Solomon addresses her questions resolutely, much to her satisfaction. Solomon’s royal appointments, his table, his waiters, and his general opulence all make a deep impression on her. On one occasion in the Gospels, Jesus mentions this visit of the queen of Sheba to Solomon and says about himself, “Something greater than Solomon is here” (Matt 12:42). Jesus is the Wisdom of God, and what he says must be taken with the utmost seriousness. In today’s Gospel, he speaks of the heart as the center of all evil. Who of us cannot trace our own misdeeds to some movement from within? A friend of mine was once involved in a financial scam. He was neither the most nor the least guilty but did have a part in some of the wrongdoing. I saw it as a misguided “once in a lifetime” mistake and wrote to the judge asking for leniency in view of his overall good conduct. The man, however, was sentenced to prison, with a sentence that the judge considered fair but not severe. The time was served and a good family life was disrupted. There are times in life when we must pay the price for our wrongdoing. The greatest tragedy is not the mistake but not to have learned from the mistake. But it all begins in the heart with a “yes” or a “no.” Indeed, it is the evil that comes from within that makes a person impure.
Points to Ponder
The wisdom of Solomon
Temptations from within
Coping with temptation
Intercessions
– For families plagued by quarrels and division, that the Lord may bless them with peace, we pray:
– For all the Churches that invoke the name of Christ, that they may accept the invitation of our Lord to eat with him from the table of unity and love, we pray:
– That the Spirit may keep lawmakers today distinguishing between good and evil, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
Lord our God, we bring before you our readiness to respond to your love. We ask you that these gifts of bread and wine may become the body and blood of your Son, Jesus Christ, that with him we may be dedicated to you with our whole mind and heart, and that we may be capable of communicating your love and justice to all those around us. Grant us this through Christ, our Lord.
Prayer after Communion
Lord our God, your Son, Jesus, has shared himself with us in this Eucharistic celebration. Purify our hearts and intentions, that we may also share in his attitude of openness to your will and to the needs of people. May we thus, fulfill more than the law and serve you as your sons and daughters, in whom you recognize Jesus Christ, your Son and our Lord forever.
Blessing
Commandments are not just observances that guarantee our salvation. They are a response to all God has given us. We ask God not what we are obliged to do, but what he expects us to do to respond to his love. May Almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
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St. Gonsalo Garcia (India)
St. Gonsalo Garcia was the first canonized saint from India. Canonized on June 8, 1862 by Pope Pius IX, his feast day is February 6.
St. Gonsalo Garcia was born around 1556 in the fortified city of Bassein in the Portuguese quarter of India. His father was Portuguese soldier and his mother was a native.
As he grew up, Gonsalo stayed with the local Jesuits. While there, he became friends with Fr. Sebastian Gonsalves, who became Gonsalo’s mentor. He studied grammar, philosophy and Roman history with the Jesuits. When he was 13, Gonsalo asked Fr. Sebastian for permission to join the missionaries to Japan. His request was denied because he was too young, but was approved two years later.
Once the missionaries reached Japan, Gonsalo worked as a catechist. He would walk the streets drawing children to him with his kindness and a fluent understanding of Japanese. He worked for eight years in the Japanese missionary fields with the Jesuits. He tried to join the Jesuit order, but he was turned down because of his native origin.
Losing hope, Gonsalo left the Jesuits. He moved to the Japanese city of lacao and started work as a merchant. His work flourished. Through his business transaction he came into contact with many high-ranking members of Japanese society, including the Emperor.
Even though he was successful in business, Gonsalo yearned to become a member of a religious order. Eventually, he was accepted by the Franciscans. He moved to Manila, where he worked as a catechist. Once again, his fluency in Japanese came in handy. In 1593, he joined a Spanish delegation to Japan as a translator. Despite some initial problems, the local king, Taikosama, was friendly towards them, and the Franciscans became quite successful in their missionary efforts.
The success of the Franciscans angered the Buddhist priests. They tried to get the king to expel the Franciscans, but he refused. However, that was about to change. A Spanish treasure ship named the San Felipe was forced to land because of a storm. The captain erroneously told the local Japanese custom agent that the Franciscans had been sent by the Spanish king to influence the people to rebel against their ruler. This lie was taken advantage of by the enemies of the Franciscans.
When Taikosama heard the story, he was enraged and ordered that all missionaries in Japan be arrested and executed. The Franciscans were arrested on December 8, 1596 and sentenced to death. The following February, 26 Christians were taken to a hill outside of Nagasaki and crucified.
Gonsalo was the first to be crucified. Once the missionaries were nailed to the crosses, the soldiers pierced each one through the heart with a spear. Upon seeing this, Christians in the crowd broke through the guards and used pieces of cloth to soak up the blood of these holy martyrs. At the end of the day, even some of the toughest soldiers had tears in their eyes, and for 40 days they remained intact.
