Within

“…there is nothing outside a man which by going into him can defile him; but the things which come out of a man are what defile him.’” (Mark 7:14-15).

Man of Sorrows (William Dyce)

Lent is a strange time.

I am Maronite Catholic, and there is a very big movement in the Eastern traditions – including the Maronites and the Melkites and even among our Orthodox cousins, to adopt various practices of fasting and abstinence during Lent.

When I was a little girl, I was told that fasting meant that I would have a small breakfast, a small lunch and a small dinner each day and on Sunday I would eat as usual because Sunday is a day of celebration of the Resurrection of Our Lord – even in Lent.

Now, in the eastern rights, fasting means taking no food or drink (other than water) until noon.  Then one will eat a small lunch and dinner.  Many people also offer up meat and abstain from eating meat for the duration of Lent.

I am a hangry person.  Food sacrifices are never a good idea for someone like me because my patience is very limited when I am hungry and I find it almost impossible to be charitable.  I do not offer many food sacrifices because I find that I do not have the discipline to do that.  However, I do think – often – about the nature of the sacrifices that we are asked to make.  After all, when we make a sacrifice, we are able to show God that we are willing to go without something with the intention to purify ourselves and become better people, which is to say, become people more worthy of Our Blessed Lord…

 “And he called the people to him again, and said to them, ‘Hear me, all of you, and understand: there is nothing outside a man which by going into him can defile him; but the things which come out of a man are what defile him.’ And when he had entered the house, and left the people, his disciples asked him about the parable. And he said to them, ‘Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a man from outside cannot defile him, since it enters, not his heart but his stomach, and so passes on?’ (Thus he declared all foods clean.) And he said, ‘What comes out of a man is what defiles a man. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, fornication, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a man.’” (Mark 7:14-23).

And I have been thinking about those words of Christ.  For it is one thing to abstain from certain foods and to restrict the volume of food that I eat, and quite another to hold onto my temper while doing that.  For after all, in the words of my Beloved, “…there is nothing outside a man which by going into him can defile him; but the things which come out of a man are what defile him.’” (Mark 7:14-15).

For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.