Today, 22nd of February, we celebrate
The Chair of Saint Peter the Apostle
At the time when the Lord God made the earth and the heavens–
while as yet there was no field shrub on earth
and no grass of the field had sprouted,
for the Lord God had sent no rain upon the earth
and there was no man to till the soil,
but a stream was welling up out of the earth
and was watering all the surface of the ground–
the Lord God formed man out of the clay of the ground
and blew into his nostrils the breath of life,
and so man became a living being.
Then the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east,
and he placed there the man whom he had formed.
Out of the ground the Lord God made various trees grow
that were delightful to look at and good for food,
with the tree of life in the middle of the garden
and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
The Lord God then took the man
and settled him in the garden of Eden,
to cultivate and care for it.
The Lord God gave man this order:
“You are free to eat from any of the trees of the garden
except the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
From that tree you shall not eat;
the moment you eat from it you are surely doomed to die.”
R./ O bless the Lord, my soul!
Bless the Lord, O my soul!
O Lord, my God, you are great indeed!
You are clothed with majesty and glory,
robed in light as with a cloak.
R./ O bless the Lord, my soul!
All creatures look to you
to give them food in due time.
When you give it to them, they gather it;
when you open your hand, they are filled with good things.
O bless the Lord, my soul!
R./ O bless the Lord, my soul!
If you take away their breath, they perish
and return to their dust.
When you send forth your spirit, they are created,
and you renew the face of the earth.
R./ O bless the Lord, my soul!
Jesus summoned the crowd again and said to them,
“Hear me, all of you, and understand.
Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person;
but the things that come out from within are what defile.”
When he got home away from the crowd
his disciples questioned him about the parable.
He said to them,
“Are even you likewise without understanding?
Do you not realize that everything
that goes into a person from outside cannot defile,
since it enters not the heart but the stomach
and passes out into the latrine?”
(Thus he declared all foods clean.)
“But what comes out of the man, that is what defiles him.
From within the man, from his heart,
come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder,
adultery, greed, malice, deceit,
licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly.
All these evils come from within and they defile.”
The Question of Purity and Impurity
All known religions have dealt with the issue of purity and impurity. It’s normal. From our limited human perspective, God is the Almighty, the Supreme Being beyond anything we can imagine—the holiest and the purest. He is pure because there is nothing in Him that is bad or unclean.
Logically, then, in order to approach Him, purity is a necessary condition. A person must rid themselves of anything impure or unclean, of anything that is sinful in any form. Because the presence of God rejects impurity. Anything impure or unclean repels God—it cannot come close to Him or mix with divinity. Impurity and God are like water and oil; they cannot be combined.
Because of this, all religions have worked hard to define and classify everything that can make a person impure. They have always ended up creating long lists of sins and actions that make men and women impure. And, as a necessary next step, they have established rituals and practices for a person to regain purity. This is how things have been, and this is how our minds often work.
But in Jesus, this entire way of thinking loses its meaning. Jesus—God with us—approaches the impure, the sinners. He mixes with them. He makes it clear that He has come to save sinners. Even more, He Himself becomes impure—at least according to the Jewish purity laws. From the moment He is born in a manger, when He is adored by shepherds (who were considered impure by excellence), when He mingles with sinners and eats with them.
In Jesus, God draws near to the impure and extends a saving hand—a hand of unconditional and free love.
And He makes it clear that, beyond all the ritual purity laws—mere human inventions—what truly makes a person impure is the evil that so often comes from their own heart. Who can claim to be pure from this perspective? No one.
That is why He has come—to save us, to heal us, to reconcile us, to give us all a new opportunity. Without excluding anyone. Because we are all impure.
Fernando Torres, cmfFather, God of the ever-new covenant,?
you have tied us to yourself?
with leading strings of everlasting love;?
the words you speak to us are spirit and life.?
May your Spirit make us look at the commandments ?
not as a set of observances.?
May they move us to serve you ?
not in a slavish way, but as your sons and daughters?
who love you and whom you have set free?
through your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord.
First Reading Introduction: The Lord God planted a garden in Eden and placed there the man whom he had formed. After the creation poem of Gen 1, we get a second version of the creation, especially of the Earth Man (Adam, drawn from adamah, earth) in a down-to-earth story. The human person breathes with the same life-giving breath (spirit, ruah) as God, at least in the sense that he or she has to breathe at the same rhythm as God. Then, the human person is placed in a royal garden called paradise, to cultivate it.
Gospel Introduction: What comes out of the man, that is what defiles him. Divided too, were the hearts of the Pharisees, as Jesus points out in the Gospel; their interior attitude did not correspond to their outward practices. The question of pure/impure was very important for the early Church, as it was one of the strongest traditions of the Jews and a point of contention for them. Hence, the Christians coming from Jewry asked themselves whether they could eat from the same table with non-Jews. According to Mark, in the light of creation that sees all foods as created good and pure, in the kingdom the rules about food are abolished.
– For families plagued by quarrels and division, that the Lord may bless them with peace, we pray:
– For all the Churches that invoke the name of Christ, that they may accept the invitation of our Lord to eat with him from the table of unity and love, we pray:
– That the Spirit may keep lawmakers today distinguishing between good and evil, we pray:
Lord our God,
we bring before you our readiness?
to respond to your love.?
We ask you that these gifts of bread and wine?
may become the body and blood?
of your Son, Jesus Christ,?
that with him we may be dedicated to you?
with our whole mind and heart,?
and that we may be capable?
of communicating your love and justice?
to all those around us.?
Grant us this through Christ, our Lord.
Lord our God,?
your Son, Jesus, has shared himself with us?
in this Eucharistic celebration.
Purify our hearts and intentions,
that we may also share in his attitude?
of openness to your will ?
and to the needs of people.?
May we thus, fulfill more than the law?
and serve you as your sons and daughters,?
in whom you recognize Jesus Christ,?
your Son and our Lord for ever.
Commandments are not just observances that guarantee our salvation. They are a response to all God has given us. We ask God not what we are obliged to do, but what he expects us to do to respond to his love. May Almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
