One Minute Reflection – 13 February – Wednesday of the Fifth week in Ordinary Time, Year A, Readings: 1 Kings10:1-10, Psalm 37:5-6, 30-31, 39-40, Mark7:14-23 and the Memorial of St Eulalia of Barcelona (c 290-c 303) Virgin and Martyr
And he said, “What comes out of a man is what defiles a man. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, fornication, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within and they defile a man.” Mark 7:20-23
REFLECTION – “The boundary between good and evil does not pass outside of us but rather within us. We could ask ourselves: where is my heart? Jesus said: “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” What is my treasure? Is it Jesus, is it His teaching? If so, then the heart is good. Or is my treasure something else? Thus it is a heart which needs purification and conversion. Without a purified heart, one cannot have truly clean hands and lips which speak sincere words of love — it is all duplicitous, a double life — lips which speak words of mercy, of forgiveness but only a sincere and purified heart can do this.”…Pope Francis – Angelus, 30 August 2015
PRAYER – God our Saviour, through the grace of Baptism, You made us children of light. Hear our prayer, that we may always walk in that light and work for truth, as Your witnesses before men. May our hearts be purified by You grace and may our hands and lips speak with sincere words of love. St Eulalia of Barcelona, child as you were, you bravely withstood all the assaults against Christ your Lord, with zeal and passion, please pray for us. We make our prayer, through Christ our Lord with the Holy Spirit, God forever, amen.
AnaStpaul 