Memorial of Saint Ignatius of Antioch, Bishop and Martyr
Today’s Reflection
Gospel: Lk 11: 37-41
October 17, 2023 | Tuesday
As Jesus was speaking, a Pharisee asked him to have a meal with him. So he went and sat at the table. The Pharisees then wondered why Jesus did not first wash his hands before dinner. But the Lord said to him, “So then, you Pharisees, you clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside yourselves, you are full of greed and evil. Fools! He who made the outside also made the inside. But according to you, by the mere giving of alms everything is made clean.
Today’s Reflection:
Jesus once again emphasized the importance of inner cleanliness. During a meal inside the Pharisee’s house, the Pharisees saw that Jesus did not practice the purification ritual. The Lord reprimanded the Pharisee by telling him that the purity of the outside relies on the purity of the inside. External purification practices
would only be complete if we also purify what is inside. Jesus reminds all of us of the need for repentance and conversion. Learning about this, let us clean the room inside our hearts so that it can accommodate Christ. When Jesus is inside us, only then can we present Jesus outside./ Vulnerasti, 2023
