Put Care of the Soul First, by Joseph Reciniello

In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus addresses the scholars of the law using hard-hitting words: “You cleanse the outside of cup and dish, but inside they are full of plunder and self-indulgence.” This leads us to ask ourselves, Is my life purely concerned with surface-level realities or superficial things? How many times in a day do we think about the way our lives look to others, in pictures or on social media? Now ask yourself: how often do I think about the state of my soul?

Friends, Jesus is reminding us here that we need to make the conditions of our souls our first priority. It’s easy to get fixated or stuck on the superficial. In this gospel, Our Lord is speaking to those whom society sees as the most faithful, the most religious—those who serve as religious authorities among God’s chosen people. And yet, on the inside, they are “full of plunder and self indulgence.” …

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