Daily Gospel Reflection
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February 8, 2023
Jesus summoned the crowd again and said to them,
“Hear me, all of you, and understand.
Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person;
but the things that come out from within are what defile.”
When he got home away from the crowd
his disciples questioned him about the parable.
He said to them,
“Are even you likewise without understanding?
Do you not realize that everything
that goes into a person from outside cannot defile,
since it enters not the heart but the stomach
and passes out into the latrine?”
(Thus he declared all foods clean.)
“But what comes out of the man, that is what defiles him.
From within the man, from his heart,
come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder,
adultery, greed, malice, deceit,
licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly.
All these evils come from within and they defile.”
Before today’s passage, Jesus is confronted by the Pharisees for not following the traditions of the elders, specifically for not washing his hands before eating. Jesus responds by saying that it is not what goes into a person that defiles them but what comes out of them. He explains that the heart is corrupt, not physical actions alone.
What can this tell us about the difference between internal motivations and external actions?
We live in a world focused on outward appearances. With social media, many more of us can get caught up in needing to present a specific image to others.
We may be more concerned with receiving likes, comments, and followers, rather than being authentic. This can lead us to engage in superficial practices, such as posting only carefully curated or filtered photos or presenting a false image of ourselves and our lives.
Behind these perfect representations is the genuine person—the one that may be deeply flawed and imperfect but also deeply loved by God. The heart represents our innermost thoughts, feelings, and motivations. It is the source of our desires, values, and beliefs. When we are out of sync with our hearts, we are out of sync with who we really are, and we are in greater danger of defiling the truth.
The Word that is Jesus Christ reminds us of the truth: that we are deeply loved and belong to God. Having been created from nothing, we are utterly dependent upon a loving Creator who spoke us into existence.
Christ’s Word makes sacred that which has become defiled. The Logos, as the Word of God, breathed us all into existence and holds us in love, despite our broken hearts. Let us always remember that truth.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, you teach us the way of the pure of heart, that we might see God more clearly, and so love God more fully. Help us to overcome the weakness and sin in our lives that prevent us from loving you and others with all our heart. Give us patience, perseverance, and confidence in your loving mercy for those sinful habits and behaviors that we find particularly difficult to overcome. Help us to know that your love for us is greater than our capacity to sin. Amen.
Saint of the Day
St. Josephine Bakhita is a heroic saint who endured the horrors of slavery with bravery before she escaped into freedom through the group of religious sisters she joined.
Josephine was born around 1869 in Darfur (now part of western Sudan). Her family was part of the powerful Daju people (after whom Darfur is named). Her uncle was the leader of their village, and Josephine was surrounded by a loving, prosperous family during her early years.
When Josephine was eight, her life took a tragic turn when she was snatched by slave traders and brought to El Obeid, a large city in central Sudan.
She reported in her autobiography that the trauma of her abduction caused her to forget her own life. The traders gave her the ironic name Bakhita (from the Arabic word barak, meaning blessed), hoping her name suggesting good fortune and luck would attract potential buyers.
Bakhita, as she was now known, was bought by an Arab to be a chambermaid for his daughters. During this period, her enslaver's son once broke into a rage and beat her so severely she was unable to walk for over a month.
Bakhita was sold to other owners who treated her with unspeakable, inhumane cruelty. In her autobiography, she recounts some of the horrendous customs of beating and scarring slaves which she endured.
In 1883, Bakhita was sold to a new owner—the Italian Consul to Sudan, Callisto Legnani. When he had to return to Italy, he brought Bakhita with him and gave her to the Michieli family. Bakhita was a faithful nanny to the Michieli family’s young daughter.
In the fall of 1888, Bakhita and her young charge went to stay with the Canossian Sisters in Venice while the rest of the family was away on business. While staying with the Canossians, Bakhita encountered Christianity the first time. The kind sisters instructed Bakhita in the Christian faith. When the Michieli family returned to bring back Bakhita to Sudan, Bakhita refused to go. The Michielis appealed to the courts, who upheld Bakhita’s freedom.
Shortly thereafter, Bakhita was baptized and received the new name of Josephine in 1890. Three years later, she entered the Canossian novitiate. After a life spent in being uprooted, Josephine was assigned to the Canossian convent in Schio and remained there for forty-two years, throughout all of World War II.
When asked later by one of her students what she would do if she met one of her captors or former owners, Josephine responded:
“If I were to meet those who kidnapped me, and even those who tortured me, I would kneel and kiss their hands. For, if these things had not happened, I would not have been a Christian and a religious today.”
Remarking on Josephine Bakhita’s remarkable love and forgiveness, Pope Benedict XVI, in his encyclical Spe Salvi ("In Hope We Are Saved"), attributed Sr. Josephine's hope and love to her hope in God’s love for her. St. Josephine knew that whatever happened to her, she would be, at the end of her life, greeted by the love who made her.
Immediately after her death on February 8, 1947, the people of Schio began to petition for the canonization of their beloved Madre Moretta or "little black mother." On October 1, 2000, Pope John Paul II canonized Josephine Bakhita; she has since become the patron saint of Sudan and of the victims of human trafficking.
St. Josephine Bakhita, whose love and hope transformed the wounds of slavery into forgiveness and freedom—pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of St. Josephine Bakhita is in the public domain. Last accessed January 23, 2025 on Wikimedia Commons.
