Heart is not a Garbage Box

GOSPEL THOUGHTS

*Ordinary Season : 5th Week - Wednesday*

*Gospel : Mk 7:14-23*

*First Reading : Gn 2:4b-9, 15-17*

*Heart is not a Garbage Box*

*1) The use of the Garbage Box*

All of us are familiar with garbage box. 

Garbage box or bag is used for collecting rotten things, disposable materials, unwanted things and waste materials 

No body would like to live near garbage box or no body would like to keep the garbage box inside the House 

*2) Heart and Garbage box*

The Gospel of the day warns us about heart becoming a garbage box 

Jesus gives us a list of rotten, unwanted and poisonous things, which turn our heart into a garbage box 

The list of unwanted things is following *evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly.*

The moment the heart is filled with these things, heart becomes worse than a garbage box 

*3) Heart and Tabernacle*

A Christian heart must be a tabernacle

A tabernacle is holy place and holy thing which is used to keep the consecrated host

Tabernacle is a place of the presence of Jesus, presence of God, and Holy Place 

Tabernacle gets importance and becomes holy because of the presence of Jesus

When Jesus is found in our heart, it becomes a tabernacle, where there is the presence of Jesus and heart becomes holy because of Jesus

*4) Heart attack and heart as Garbage box*

All of us are familiar with heart attack. Whenever there are some symptoms of heart attack immediately we go to the hospital and we treat our heart 

In other words we clean the heart to avoid the heart attack 

What happens when heart becomes a garbage box. There comes the spiritual heart attack, which results in the absence of Jesus and the person is spiritually lost 

So when there are symptoms of heart becoming a garbage box, immediately one need to treat it. So that the spiritual heart could be saved 

*5) Ways to save the heart from Garbage box*

One needs to treat this sickness immediately

The following medicine need to be used in cleaning the Garbage box

The medicine of forgiveness

The medicine of love

The medicine of truth 

The medicine of prayer 

The medicine of meditation

The medicine of sacrifice

The medicine of generosity

The medicine of humility

The medicine of service 

The medicine of discipline

All these medicines will save our heart from becoming a garbage box 

*6) Has my heart become a Garbage box?*

All of us were created by God with a beautiful heart. This heart is a tabernacle, used for the dwelling of the Holy one

But what has happened over the years? 

Have I turned this tabernacle into a Garbage box? 

What are the unwanted things I have stored in it to make it a garbage box? 

Is this Garbage box is stinking and others are getting a bad smell of it? 

*Think about it*

*God bless you and your family. Praying for you and your dear ones*

*Fr Maxim DSouza*

*Jeppu Seminary*

*Mangalore*