Jeremiah 30: 1-2.12- 15.18-22,
Ps 102:16-18.19-21,
Matthew 15: 1-2.10-14 Full Readings
What comes out of your mouth?
Today we celebrate the memorial of St John Vianney who was a priest and well known for his pastoral zeal and power of preaching the word of God. He was well known for being ignorant especially religious ignorance and nobody thought something good could come from him. However, his devotions to Virgin Mary and St Philomena and his deduction to the sacrament of Reconciliation for his parishioners which showed his pastoral zeal made him a saint we venerate today. He is the patron and model of parish priests and today we are invited to pray to him for our priests.
Today's Gospel presents to us the Pharisees asking Jesus why His disciples broke the tradition of elders by not washing hands before eating. Jesus didn't answer them but instead gathered the crowd and told them, what goes inside the person doesn't not defile him but what comes out of the person's mouth is what defiles. At this the Pharisees took offense and Jesus said in reply that every plant that is not planted by His Father will be uprooted, the Pharisees are blind people leading blind people which will lead to total downfall.
Brethren, what comes out of your mouth? The better way we can know a person is when we hear what he or she speaks because even actions can be compromised by pretense. What comes out of a person shows who he or she is and which values he or she believes in in his heart.
We will either hear the words permeated with God's love, or we will hear all types of vile and foul speech. We will see if he or she is self centered or centred on the needs of others. We will understand who sees himself or herself and an instrument of God and who uses God and an instrument of his or her success. Mostly what is inside the person comes out through his or her speech and so we will be known if we love God and His statutes through our words too.
Sometimes we think that if a person is under the influence of alcohol or any drug, he or she is not herself or himself but this is a wrong conception. Instead this is the time when the person shows his or her true character. You will agree with me that is a person is a thief and is under the influence of any drug or alcohol, he or she will not talk about God but stealing and might even go to steal, if he or she is a prostitute she or he will start sexual behaviours not going for stealing, if she or she is a religious, he or she will start blessing people and saying that God loves you, if he or she is a bad father or mother, the family will suffer to mention but a few. So if a person is under the influence, he or she will do what is inside him or her not the other way round.
So brethren, what comes out of you? Is it the message of peace or of destruction? is it quarrels or serenity? Is it the praise of God or blaspheming? Is it words of courage and strength or bringing someone down? Above all is it a message of love? As Christians what comes out of us should be the Christian virtues and that's when they will know that we are Christians and have been planted by God and thus we stand not to be uprooted.
Reflect today on how you use your tongue and on your actions especially when you are alone for these mostly tell us who you are. Is your inside resembling your outside? Ask the Holy Spirit to always guide you to give out a message good for you and for all as well as for proclaiming the kingdom of God. Where you have failed, ask God to forgive you as He forgave and healed the incurable wound of Israel in the first reading.
Let us pray
Lord give me truth and integrity so that whatever I do and say may be good and pleasing to you and all humanity and may these actions reveal the true self of me. Amen
Be blessed.
May St John Vianney pray for us
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