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Gospel Reading for February 11, 2026 – Mark 7: 14-23
SALVATION
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.”
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This reading is a continuation of yesterday’s passage, where the scribes and Pharisees complained that some of Jesus’ disciples did not wash their hands before eating—a human tradition they had elevated to the level of God’s commandments.
Truly, Jesus came not to abolish the Law and the Prophets, but to fulfill them (Matthew 5:17–18). He came to correct what was distorted in their practices and to enlighten them about the true intent of God’s commandments. In doing so, he sought nothing less than their SALVATION.
Mere observance of tradition cannot purify a person, for it cannot cleanse what lies within the heart. What truly purifies is sincere repentance, the resolve to amend one’s ways, and openness to the working of the Holy Spirit.
Holy Spirit, we open our hearts to the outpouring of your grace, that we may always be your temple, where all that is good and beautiful may dwell.
