“Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?” So goes that famous line from the comic book character The Shadow and how apt a summary for today’s Gospel passage.
The Pharisees emphasized much on rituals and rules more than they taught principle and meaning of what those rituals and rules meant. They and the people they preached to were so caught up with these rituals and rules that they neglected the spiritual sustenance of their own souls.
We can go to Mass and pray the same prayers everyday but Jesus reminds us that we should not depend on the Mass and the prayers we recite to cure us from sin or should we recite them to make us become holier, righteous people. The real us depends on what we think and what we really value. It is from our hearts that we achieve who we really are and how we influence those around us.
In the first reading we read how the Queen of Sheba was so impressed by Solomon’s wisdom that she praised him and gave him expensive presents. However the story ends with the queen returning to her own country without really saying how she applied what she has learned.
Let us ask ourselves today, how do we apply to action what we hear from the mass and from the prayers we recite? Do we reflect and seek the message and true meaning of Jesus’ words? Do we pray to our Blessed Mother not because it is our habit to pray the Rosary or because we ask for her intercession but because we want to feel her presence and the love of her Son within us?
Finally, let us be reminded not to allow evil to lurk in our hearts but rather to allow the goodness and purity of God’s love to grow within us
