Tuesday of the
Fifth Week in Ordinary Time
(I Kings 8:22-23.27-30; Mark 7:1-13)
Lay evangelist Matthew Kelly is advising people not
to give up chocolate for Lent. Rather he
wants listeners to follow his daily program of reflection and action. No doubt he will show them how to go beyond performing
superficial actions. He will prompt them
to give their whole lives to the Lord. His
dismissal of fasting from chocolate approximates Jesus’ critique of Pharisaical
practices in today’s gospel.
Jesus takes the Pharisees to task for minding the shell
and not the kernel of the Law. He finds
their concern about purifying their hands before eating as if they were preparing
to offer Temple sacrifice pompous. He
would say that if they really desired to please God they should help the needy.
It is not wrong nor is it very hard to give up chocolate. We might begin our Lenten penance in that
way. But we need to go far beyond that. Giving the money saved on sweets to assist the
poor is a small step in the right direction.
Let us exert ourselves every day to become a blessing for others.
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