Sunday 2 September

Twenty Second Week in Ordinary Time

Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-8; Psalm 15; James 1:17-18, 21-22, 27; Mark 7:1-8,14-15, 21-23

Purity of motive

God’s laws shape our moral and spiritual lives. In the Gospel, Jesus explains this by way of the example of cultural purity and, in particular, food and hygiene. In fact, he explains that the Jewish purity laws are really concerend with what comes out of the heart. The purity laws point to the real need for humans to strive for a much deeper purity than simply clean hands and pots. What is more important is to have purity of motive.