Today is one of my sibling’s birthdays and it always brings me back to our childhood days all growing up under one roof. There were eight of us, five boys and three girls, and I always felt blessed to be the only sibling that had both older brothers and an older sister, and younger brothers and a younger sister. I was right in the middle of the line up and natural, the peacemaker and unifier of the family.
During one particular heated discussion between my parents, I remember gathering my brothers and sisters beside me on the couch, holding hands, and singing “Peace is Flowing Like a River” at the top of my lungs to get them to stop arguing, and they soon did. We all have times of discord, but they also afford us the opportunity to find the peace that only comes from Christ.
In today’s Gospel, there appears to be discord among Jesus’ followers as well. He just got done telling them: “Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person; but the things that come out from within are what defile.” They were confused because they had always been taught that certain foods were unclean. How were they to change their entire way of thinking in an instant? Jesus seemed a little miffed at their lack of understanding and further explained that the malice that comes out of us from within our hearts is where true evil lies, not anything that we put into our mouths.
Jesus makes Himself present within their discord and brings them peace. He does the same for us when we allow Him to enter our lives and the deepest recesses of our hearts. He does not want us to misunderstand Him. He wants to make everything clear to us. He does not want our hearts to be troubled. He wants us to be at peace, even amid the storms of life.
Let us ask God to help us today and everyday to let only clean and peaceful things come from our hearts and out of our mouths. May His grace sustain us and aid us on our path to holiness.
Hoy es el cumpleaños de mi hermano y siempre me recuerda a nuestra infancia, todos creciendo bajo el mismo techo. Éramos ocho, cinco niños y tres niñas, y siempre me sentí bendecida de ser la única hermana que tenía hermanos mayores y una hermana mayor, y hermanos menores y una hermana menor. Yo caía justo en el medio de todos y naturalmente era la pacificadora y la unificadora de la familia.
Un día, durante una acalorada discusión entre mis padres, recuerdo haber reunido a mis hermanos y hermanas a mi lado en el sofá, nos tomamos de la mano y cantamos “La paz fluye como un río” a todo pulmón para que dejaran de discutir, y pronto así fue. Todos pasamos por momentos de discordia, pero también nos brindan la oportunidad de encontrar la paz que solo viene de Cristo.
En el Evangelio de hoy parece haber discordia también entre los seguidores de Jesús. Just les acaba de decir: “Nada que entre de fuera puede manchar al hombre; lo que sí lo mancha es lo que sale de dentro”. Estaban confundidos porque siempre les habían enseñado que ciertos alimentos eran impuros. ¿Cómo iban a cambiar toda su forma de pensar en un solo instante? Jesús pareció un poco molesto por su falta de comprensión y explicó además que la malicia que sale de nuestro corazón es donde reside el verdadero mal, no cualquier cosa que metemos a la boca.
Jesús se hace presente en medio de su discordia y les trae la paz. Y hace lo mismo por nosotros cuando le permitimos entrar en nuestras vidas y en lo más profundo de nuestro corazón. No quiere que lo malinterpretemos. Quiere dejarnos todo claro. No quiere que nuestros corazones se turben. Quiere que estemos en paz, incluso en medio de las tormentas de la vida.
Pidamos a Dios que nos ayude hoy y todos los días a dejar que de nuestro corazón y de nuestra boca salgan sólo cosas puras y pacíficas. Que Su gracia nos sostenga y nos ayude en nuestro camino hacia la santidad.
Feature Image Credit: Yoann Boyer, unsplash.com/photos/i14h2xyPr18
Tami Urcia grew up in Western Michigan, a middle child in a large Catholic family. She spent early young adulthood as a missionary in Mexico, studying theology and philosophy, then worked and traveled extensively before finishing her Bachelor’s Degree in Western Kentucky. She loves tackling projects, finding fun ways to keep her little ones occupied, quiet conversation with the hubby and finding unique ways to love. She works full time, is a guest blogger on CatholicMom.com and BlessedIsShe.net, and has been doing Spanish translations on the side for over 20 years.
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