THE WORD
1 Kgs 19, 9.11-16 / Mt 5, 27-32
Jesus said to his disciples, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you, everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
“If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one of your members than to have your whole body thrown into Gehenna. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one of your members than to have your whole body go into Gehenna.
“It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife must give her a bill of divorce.’ But I say to you, whoever divorces his wife (unless the marriage is unlawful) causes her to commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.”
IN OTHER WORDS
On my way from Manila to our SVD Mission Center in San Jose, Batangas, I told my driver “mag rosary na tayo.” As I was bringing out my rosary from my pocket, the driver went to the side of the road, and pointed to me the grocery!
What is in your heart? “Rosary” or “grocery?” What preoccupies your mind most of the time? What are your priorities? May we not forget the Lord in the midst of so many worldly activities and concerns.
Let us be reminded today that the most important journey in life is our journey to God’s heart. Let not our financial journey, career journey, popularity journey, power journey, etc. divert or prevent us from coming closer to God’s heart. The bottom line is that it profits us nothing if we gain the whole world, and in the end lose our souls. Today, in prayer, heart-to-heart, let us ask our Lord and our Blessed Mother to help us see what is really in our hearts, and to remove whatever destroys our clarity of purpose and purity of heart.
“May the darkness of sin and the night of unbelief vanish before the light of the Word and the spirit of grace. And may the heart of Jesus live in the hearts of all.” (St. Arnold Janssen, SVD)
- Fr. Jerry Orbos, SVD | San Jose, Batangas
The Word in other words 2016
An annual project of Logos Publications, The WORD in Other Words Bible Diary contains daily scripture readings and reflections written by priest, brothers, and sisters of the three congregations founded by St. Arnold Janssen (the SVD, SSpS, and SSpSAP). It hopes to serve as a daily companion to readers who continually seek the correlation of the Word of God and human experience.
