12.02.25 Perang Salib Hati: Memenangkan Kemurnian di Dunia Modern

Wednesday 5th week in ordinary time "Mk 7:14-23" 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." "For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, theft, murder, covetousness…" But also from within, out of the heart come acts of love, of thankfulness and adoration. The world doesn't help much to be pure of heart. For that reason, St Josemaría wrote: "There is need of a crusade of manliness and purity to counteract and undo the savage work of those who think that man is a beast. And that crusade is a matter for you." "I was born into a Christian family", wrote a young girl. "My parents went to daily Mass and in school they taught me what was right and wrong in relation to the 6th and 9th commandments. As a child, I always wanted to be pure, but as an adolescent, my world changed. I fell in love with a boy. My friends encouraged me not to miss the opportunity: if I really loved him, they said, I should invite him to go a bit further and lose my purity with him. I allowed myself to be convinced that 'everyone did it', that it was 'normal'. So, one day when we were alone I suggested that we go a bit further… I thought he was going to accept. But to my dismay, he sprang up from the sofa, looked at me with the saddest face I had ever seen in my life and left without a word. I cried, I called him, texted him… But all to no avail. One day I went to see him. He opened the door – but he was still sad. Taking my hands in his, almost with tears in his eyes, he said, "You are worth much more than that." That day the penny dropped. I learned a lesson I never forgot. Still today I remember those sad eyes, like Christ's staring at me and reminding me: I'm worth more...much more than that!" The world needs Christians like that boy. My Immaculate Mother, I ask you for Christians committed to this crusade of purity, able to remind everyone with their deeds and their words, boldly, that those who sell themselves to impurity are worth much more than that: they are worth all the Blood of your Son.