Daily Gospel Reflection
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February 9, 2022
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.”
Whether through our jobs or resumes, we often define ourselves in light of external things in hopes that the world will value who we are. Unfortunately, all too often, we judge ourselves by these same standards. Our identities become wrapped up in our performance reviews or crafting the perfect storyline for public consumption. We see ourselves as good or bad, depending on these successes or failures.
In today’s gospel, Christ reminds us that we cannot judge ourselves by anything external. Our resumes ultimately do not define us or say anything about our dignity as children of God. Moreover, Christ offers the standard by which we should see ourselves: the human heart.
Throughout this gospel, Christ warns us that the human heart can commit many immoral acts, which can scare us because it seems that Christ is condemning us. This is not the case. Instead, Christ wishes to show that the human heart is ultimately good because our hearts are made for God’s love.
Christ wants to touch our hearts so much that God became human for us. Above all, Jesus wishes to make us see that the proper standard of life is the unconditional love of the Holy Spirit.
As we ponder not just today’s gospel but all the gospels, we see examples of people following their heart and finding Christ there: The star guided the shepherds at Bethlehem to see the face of God. Mary Magdalene and Peter, two sinners, were received into Christ’s heart because their hearts longed to experience unconditional love.
Let us pray that we do not judge ourselves by any external standards or become discouraged in our pursuit of holiness. Instead, may we be consoled by the fact that God is with us. Let us hope in Christ’s boundless heart, who pours unconditional love to each one of us.
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. Miguel was born in November 1854 as Francisco Luis Febres-Cordero y Muñoz in a small village high up in the Andes Mountains of Ecuador. His father was a professor who was deeply involved in the politics of the newly independent Ecuador. Francisco was born crippled, but at age five, he was cured of his deformity miraculously through a vision of the Virgin Mary.
Francisco attended a Christian Brothers high school, and was a bright and studious pupil. As soon as he entered, he said, he felt a great longing to also become a Christian Brother (also known as the La Salle Brothers). Since the La Salle Brothers were a relatively newer order, his family objected—they wanted him to join a more prestigious, more established religious order.
His family enrolled him in the diocesan seminary, but Francisco fell quite ill and had to leave the seminary before completing his first year. As his health was deteriorating, his family allowed him to return to school with the Christians Brothers. Reluctantly, his father finally gave Francisco permission to join the order as a brother. Francisco's relationship with his father was tense for most of his years as a brother in the La Salle Institute, but the two men were eventually reconciled before his father's death in 1882.
At the age of fourteen, Francisco joined the order on March 24, 1868. He took the name Brother Miguel. After his novitiate year, although he was only fifteen, Brother Miguel was sent to teach in Quito, Ecuador's capital. He would teach for nearly forty years. He became an internationally recognized scholar of the Spanish language, publishing his first book before he was twenty.
As novice-master, Miguel cared for the young men who joined the order in the tumultuous political environment of Ecuador's shifting regimes. His talents both in the formation of the younger brothers and in academic work caught the attention of the Institute's leaders in Rome. They sent Miguel to various houses around Europe. Miguel was homesick for Ecuador and his life there. In the summer of 1909, Miguel was in Barcelona, during a week of upheaval known as la semana trágica, "the tragic week." During this week of protests and strikes, churches were burned throughout the city. Although the house of the Brothers survived (a miracle many credit to the statue of the Blessed Virgin that Brother Miguel left in the window), and the Brothers returned safely to the city, the incident took a great toll on Brother Miguel's health.
In the winter of 1910, his health began to fail and on February 9, 1910, Brother Miguel passed away. When news reached the Catholics in Ecuador, they mourned the loss of their beloved hero. He was buried in Barcelona, but, in 1937, his remains were returned to his native country, to great rejoicing.
Brother Miguel was canonized by Pope John Paul II in 1984. His great-grandnephew, the president of Ecuador, León Febres Cordero, was present at his canonization.
St. Miguel Febres Cordero, who dedicated his entire life to humble service of God—pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of St. Miguel Febres Cordero is used with permission from Catholic Online. Last accessed January 23, 2025.