Wednesday 8 February 2023

Today is Wednesday the 8th of February, in the fifth week of Ordinary time.


As you arrive at prayer today, become aware of God’s loving gaze upon you. Juliano Ravanello sings Adoro Te Devote:
Godhead here in hiding, whom I do adore,
Masked by these bare shadows, shape and nothing more,
See, Lord, at thy service low lies here a heart,
Lost, all lost in wonder at the God Thou art.
Are you able to become ‘lost in wonder’ at God?


Adoro te devote, latens deitas,
Quæ sub his figuris vere latitas;
Tibi se cor meum totum subicit,
Quia te contemplans totum deficit.
Visus, tactus, gustus in te fallitur,
Sed auditu solo tuto creditur.
Credo quidquid dixit Dei Filius;
Nil hoc verbo Veritátis verius.
In Cruce latebat sola Deitas,
At hic latet simul et Humanitas,
Ambo tamen credens atque confitens,
Peto quod petivit latro pœnitens.
Plagas, sicut Thomas, non intueor:
Deum tamen meum te confiteor.
Fac me tibi semper magis credere,
In te spem habere, te diligere.


Godhead here in hiding, whom I do adore,
Masked by these bare shadows, shape and nothing more,
See, Lord, at thy service low lies here a heart
Lost, all lost in wonder at the God thou art.
Seeing, touching, tasting are in thee deceived:
How says trusty hearing? that shall be believed;
What God's Son has told me, take for truth I do;
Truth himself speaks truly or there's nothing true.
On the cross thy godhead made no sign to men,
Here thy very manhood steals from human ken:
Both are my confession, both are my belief,
And I pray the prayer of the dying thief.
I am not like Thomas, wounds I cannot see,
But can plainly call thee Lord and God as he;
Let me to a deeper faith daily nearer move,
Daily make me harder hope and dearer love.

Today’s reading is from the Gospel of Mark.

Mark 7:14-23

Then he called the crowd again and said to them, ‘Listen to me, all of you, and understand: there is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile, but the things that come out are what defile.’

When he had left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him about the parable. He said to them, ‘Then do you also fail to understand? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile, since it enters, not the heart but the stomach, and goes out into the sewer?’ (Thus he declared all foods clean.) And he said, ‘It is what comes out of a person that defiles. For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come: fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.’

Jesus is engaging in a robust argument with religious rulers. He offers the people some earthy teaching on the question of ritual defilement, but he’s not just scoring points. He’s getting to the heart of our understanding of sin and guilt. How do you feel as you listen to him speaking?

Jesus points to the human heart as the origin of our actions and reactions. How does this connect with your own history of sin and forgiveness? Where is Jesus leading you in this teaching of his?

As we listen to the reading once more, try to be alert to any words or images that strike home particularly. Jesus offers both freedom and challenge here. Is there a part of your life that is touched specially by this invitation?


Jesus is in straight-talking mode today. Try talking to him honestly about your own reaction to this discussion and the thoughts and feelings that it is prompting in you.


Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.