St. Augustine wrote that "Our hearts are restless until they rest in Thee." Our hearts tell who we are as well. Jesus reminds us today that it is what comes from inside a person is what defiles him or her, not things that come from without. Inside, in the heart, can reside the formidable list that Jesus gives us: "evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, and folly." (Mk 7:23). What lies within is often visible in the face. The face of Judas in da Vinci's Last Supper was once the innocent, pure face of a man who posed for Jesus 11 years before. A life of depravity had hardened it to be the face that da Vinci searched for years. On the other hand, the face of a person with a pure and undefiled heart radiates that inner goodness unmistakably. We might say, "by their faces you shall know them." Renowned French spiritual direct, Fr. Jacques Philippe, writes that "The most powerful guard of a pure heart is the spirit of faith by which we see God's hand in everything that comes to us...." (Magnificat, Feburary, p. 167)
Bro. Rene
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