St. Jerome Emiliani, priest 

St. Josephine Bakhita, virgin

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊  

1 king: 8:22-23, 27-30

 Then Solomon stood

Before the altar of Yahweh in the presence of all the assembly of Israel. He raised his hands towards heaven   and said, “O Yahweh, God of Israel, there is no God like you either in heaven or on earth! You keep your covenant and show loving- kindness to your servants who walk before you wholeheartedly.  

 But will God really live among people on earth? If neither heavens nor the highest heavens can contain you, how much less can this House which I have built!   Yet, listen to the prayer and supplication of your servant, O Yahweh my God; hearken to the cries and pleas which your servant directs to you this day. Watch over this House of which you have said, ‘My name shall rest there.’ Hear the prayer of your servant in this place.

 Listen to the supplication of your servant and your people Israel when they pray in this direction; listen from your dwelling place in heaven and, on listening, forgive.

 

Ps 84:3, 4, 5 & 10, 11

How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God!

 

＊＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊＊  

Mark 7:1-13

 One day the Pharisees gathered around Jesus and with them were some teachers of the Law who had just come from Jerusalem.  They noticed that some of his dis­ciples were eating their meal with unclean hands, that is, without washing them.  Now the Pharisees, and in fact, all the Jews, never eat without washing their hands for they fol­low the tradition received from their ancestors.   

Nor do they eat anything when they come from the market without first washing themselves. And there are many other traditions they observe, for example, the ritual washing of cups, pots and plates.  So the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law asked him, “Why do your disciples not follow the tradition of the elders, but eat with unclean hands?”

 Jesus answered, “You, shallow people! How well Isaiah prophesied of you when he wrote: This peo­ple honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.   The worship they offer me is worthless, for what they teach are only human rules.  You even put aside the commandment of God to hold fast to human tradition.”

 And Jesus commented, “You have a fine way of dis­regarding the commandment of God in order to implant your own tradition.   For example, Moses said: Do your duty to your father and your mother, and: Whoever curses his father or his mother is to be put to death.   

But according to you someone could say to his father or mother: ‘I already declared Corban, which means “offered to God,” what you could have expected from me.’   In this case, you no longer let him do anything for a father or mother.  So you nullify the word of God through the tradition you have handed on. And you do many other things like that.”

 

Gospel Reflection：

Coming from Jerusalem

Mark opens the episode of the day with a curious observation: “Some teachers of the law had just come from Jerusalem.” This could mean that those teachers would have, in all probability, visited the Temple in Jerusalem. Even if they hadn’t they had surely come from a place where God’s presence was acutely felt as an everyday presence.

Yet, sadly, it looks like their visit to God’s eternal city had only sharpened their divisive and accusing sense of the law, instead of softening their heart with love! They could only find fault with everything Jesus and his disciples were doing.

This begs the question: What kind of God do we encounter and take after from our visits to our churches and holy places? Do we come from “Jerusalem” with a divisive and condemning heart or with a heart that beats with greater compassion and Christ-likeness?

 

I urge you to persevere in your love for Christ
And your faithful observance of the law of Christ.
Our goal is God, the source of all good.
As we say in our prayer, we are to place
Our trust in God and in no one else.
In His kindness, our Lord wished to strengthen your faith,
For without, as the evangelist points out, Christ could not have performed Many of His miracles.

       〜 ST. Jerome Emiliani (1486-1537) 〜