“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You cleanse the outside of cup and dish, but inside they are full of plunder and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee, cleanse first the inside of the cup, so that the outside also may be clean.” ( Mt 23) Prayer: Purify my heart and make me holy. Thoughts: As soon as I read this scripture the phrase ‘pretty face and bad character’ immediately came to mind. The present citizenry of the Earth live by this credo. We spend hours and endless funds making the outside of us beautiful and leaving our inside in turmoil and in some cases downright dirty and ugly. We use retail therapy or some pampering before a prayer. It is not a judgement or criticism because I also do the same thing but it is a reality check for us. This focus on the external is what is causing the fall out in the society and making the world as we know it almost unlivable since misery likes company. When someone is at peace, it radiates from their person, a glow is seen that no facial or contouring can create. And, according to St. Augustine, we would not find that peace until we find ourselves in God. How many of us for our birthdays decide to adopt a new virtue or rather rid ourselves of a bad habit and then adopt a virtue, or focus on giving ourselves tangible gifts? Now my love language is receiving gifts so I am not against receiving gifts but my point is how much time do we spend working on our character? If you are brave enough to hear the answers ask those who interact with you if they see Jesus or God in you, or if they can conclude that you belong to God. Let’s aim for some compliments about the size of our hearts and the strength of our character. There is a retreat exercise I love to do and that is I ask the participants to picture and draw their hearts. Once Jesus takes over the inside, you will not need to worry about the outside, it will come naturally the time and energy to take care of your physical self. I leave you with 2 quotes: ‘Treat your soul as if you would die tomorrow and your body as if you would live forever’; when wealth is lost, little is lost, when health is lost, much is lost, when character is lost, all is lost.
Posted on: Tue, 27 Aug 2013 09:24:11 +0000
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