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22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time Mark 7:1-8;14-15,221-23 |
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| Background:We return to Mark’s gospel this Sunday and once again discover how this short gospel, more than likely the first one, is so succinct in its presentation of the message of Jesus. The Pharisees had a narrow, legalistic view of how to worship their God. Jesus responds to their questioning of his disciples’ behavior with the quote from Isaiah regarding how to follow God’s commandments. Evil comes from the intention in our hearts and it is the intention, not the behavior, that keeps us from doing God’s will. | read the padre |
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Story:Once upon a time, not so very long ago, the friends
and relatives of a young couple gathered in a bride-to -be’s parish church. After the
wedding party processed up the aisle and before the ceremony began, the celebrant made an
announcement. Only baptized Catholics in the state of grace would be allowed to receive
Holy Communion during the Eucharistic celebration. Anyone who had committed a mortal sin
and had not received absolution from a priest should not approach the altar. Examples of
those who should not come forward were persons who had divorced and remarried without
first receiving an annulment from the Catholic Church, and couples who were unmarried and
co-habituating. He then called the gathered community to worship with him. Needless to say
there was much discussion of his comments among many of those who had attended the
ceremony. One guest, herself very active in her own parish community, observed, wryly,
that it was interesting that the only cardinal sin mentioned was lust. Could it be that if
he mentioned all the possible manifestations of all the deadly sins, no one would be
permitted to approach the altar?
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