What’s on Your Inside?

Tuesday 11^th February 2020. Read 1st Kings 10:1-10, Psalm 37 and Mark 7:14-23.

_“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 7:21-23)*_

The Queen of Sheba travelled all the way from Africa to see Solomon who was actually trending on world social media (back in the days) as “the wisest fellow amongst all humans.” This was quite a journey for her. She came with her entourage to discover, to learn and to explore. In the end, she went back wiser and better equipped for leadership. The land of Sheba would never remain the same.

If I had a lot of money, there are a lot of places in this world I would like to visit. Given that travelling is a form of education, I would love to go on “further studies” around the world. However, as the saying goes, “a true voyage of discovery is not in seeing new lands but in changing one’s eyes.”

Our Gospel passage today invites to a special voyage of discovery – the land deep down within! This is the place we do not like to visit, yet it is never far from us. It is our own heart; the cooking pot the churns out our ideas, inspirations, motivations and even feelings.

Jesus tells us: “Hear me, all of you, and understand: there is nothing outside a man which by going into him can defile him; but the things which come out of a man are what defile him.” (Mark 7:14-15). No wonder people often say: “What will kill a man is inside of him.”

The truth is that most of us do not even care to know what is inside of us. We barely examine our hearts. This is why we easily notice the specks in other people’s eyes but are blind to the logs in our eyes. (Cf. Matthew 7:3-5). We are good at judging, condemning and calling people names when they fail to meet up with our expectations even though we fail to meet up with our own expectations of ourselves.

Do I know what is inside me? How often do I examine my conscience? The church in her wisdom decided to inculcate the examination of conscience in the Night Prayer of the Divine Office to give us the opportunity to look inwards daily before we go to bed. Try this today; be faithful to it and your life would be totally transformed.

Let us Pray: Lord Jesus, make me pure and holy inside. Amen.

Be happy. Live positive. It is well with you. (Wednesday of the 5th week in Ordinary Time. Bible Study: 1st Kings 10:1-10, Psalm 37 and Mark 7:14-23).