From: Mark 7:14-23

What Defiles a Man

[14] And [Jesus] called the people to meet Him, and said to them, “Hear Me, all
of you, and understand: [15] there is nothing outside a man which by going into
him can defile him; but the things that come out of a man are what defile him.”
[17] And when He had entered the house, and left the people, His disciples asked
Him about the parable. [18] And He said to them, “Then are you also without un-
derstanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a man from outside cannot
defile him, [19] since it enters, not his heart but his stomach, and so passes on?”
(Thus He declared all foods clean.) [20] And He said, “What comes out of a man
is what defiles a man. [21] For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil
thoughts, fornication, theft, murder, adultery, [22] coveting, wickedness, deceit,
licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. [23] All these evil things come
from within, and they defile a man.

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Commentary:

15. Some important codices add here: “If any man has ears to hear, let him
hear,” which would form verse 16.

18-19. We know from Tradition that St. Mark was the interpreter of St. Peter and
that, in writing his Gospel under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, he gathered up
the Roman catechesis of the head of the Apostles.

The vision which St. Peter had in Joppa (Acts 10:10-16) showed him the full
depth of what Jesus teaches here about food. When he returns to Jerusalem, St.
Peter himself tells us this in his report on the conversion of Cornelius: “I remem-
bered the word of the Lord” (Acts 11:16). The now non-obligatory character of
such prescriptions laid down by God in the Old Testament (cf. Leviticus 11)
would have been something St. Peter included in his preaching. For interpreta-
tion of this text cf. also note on Matthew 15:10-20.

[Note on Matthew 15:10-20 states:

10-20. Our Lord proclaims the true meaning of moral precepts and makes it
clear that man has to answer to God for his actions. The scribes’ mistake con-
sisted in concentrating on externals and not giving pride of place to interior puri-
ty of heart. For example they saw prayer in terms of exact recital of fixed forms
of words rather than as a raising of the soul to God (cf. Matthew 6:5-6). The
same thing happened in the case of dietary regulations.

Jesus avails Himself of the particular cases dealt with in this passage to teach
us where to find the true center of moral action: it lies in man’s personal deci-
sion, good or evil, a decision which is shaped in his heart and which then is ex-
pressed in the form of action. For example, the sins which our Lord lists are
sins committed in the human heart prior to being acted out. In the Sermon on
the Mount He already said this: “Every one who looks at a woman lustfully has
already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matthew 5:28).]

20-23. “In order to help us understand divine things, Scripture uses the expres-
sion ‘heart’ in its full meaning, as the summary and source, expression and ulti-
mate basis, of one’s thoughts, words and actions” (St. J. Escriva, “Christ Is
Passing By”, 164).

The goodness or malice, the moral quality, of our actions does not depend on
their spontaneous, instinctive character. The Lord Himself tells us that sinful ac-
tions can come from the human heart.

We can understand how this can happen if we realize that, after original sin, man
“was changed for the worse” in both body and soul and was, therefore, prone to
evil (cf. Council of Trent, “De Peccato Originali”). Our Lord here restores morality
in all its purity and intensity.

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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.

Readings at Mass

First reading

1 Kings 10:1-10 ©

The fame of Solomon having reached the queen of Sheba... she came to test him with difficult questions. She brought immense riches to Jerusalem with her, camels laden with spices, great quantities of gold, and precious stones. On coming to Solomon, she opened her mind freely to him; and Solomon had an answer for all her questions, not one of them was too obscure for the king to expound. When the queen of Sheba saw all the wisdom of Solomon, the palace he had built, the food at his table, the accommodation for his officials, the organisation of his staff and the way they were dressed, his cup-bearers, and the holocausts he offered in the Temple of the Lord, it left her breathless, and she said to the king, ‘What I heard in my own country about you and your wisdom was true, then! Until I came and saw it with my own eyes I could not believe what they told me, but clearly they told me less than half: for wisdom and prosperity you surpass the report I heard. How happy your wives are! How happy are these servants of yours who wait on you always and hear your wisdom! Blessed be the Lord your God who has granted you his favour, setting you on the throne of Israel! Because of the Lord’s everlasting love for Israel, he has made you king to deal out law and justice.’ And she presented the king with a hundred and twenty talents of gold and great quantities of spices and precious stones; no such wealth of spices ever came again as those given to King Solomon by the queen of Sheba.

Psalm

Psalm 36:5-6,30-31,39-40 ©

The just man’s mouth utters wisdom.

Commit your life to the Lord,

trust in him and he will act,

so that your justice breaks forth like the light,

your cause like the noon-day sun.

The just man’s mouth utters wisdom.

The just man’s mouth utters wisdom

and his lips speak what is right;

the law of his God is in his heart,

his steps shall be saved from stumbling.

The just man’s mouth utters wisdom.

The salvation of the just comes from the Lord,

their stronghold in time of distress.

The Lord helps them and delivers them

and saves them: for their refuge is in him.

The just man’s mouth utters wisdom.

Gospel Acclamation

cf.2Tim1:10

Alleluia, alleluia!

Our Saviour Jesus Christ abolished death

and he has proclaimed life through the Good News.

Alleluia!

Or	Jn17:17

Alleluia, alleluia!

Your word is truth, O Lord:

consecrate us in the truth.

Alleluia!

Gospel

Jesus called the people to him and said, ‘Listen to me, all of you, and understand. Nothing that goes into a man from outside can make him unclean; it is the things that come out of a man that make him unclean. If anyone has ears to hear, let him listen to this.’

When he had gone back into the house, away from the crowd, his disciples questioned him about the parable. He said to them, ‘Do you not understand either? Can you not see that whatever goes into a man from outside cannot make him unclean, because it does not go into his heart but through his stomach and passes out into the sewer?’ (Thus he pronounced all foods clean.) And he went on, ‘It is what comes out of a man that makes him unclean. For it is from within, from men’s hearts, that evil intentions emerge: fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, malice, deceit, indecency, envy, slander, pride, folly. All these evil things come from within and make a man unclean.’