***
Gospel: Mark 7:14-23:
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.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
***
***
The Native Americans believe there are two wolves living within each of us.
One wolf feeds on things that defile us, which Jesus mentions in the Gospel: pride, selfishness, gossip, anger, judgment, and lust.
The other wolf feeds on virtues, such as patience, humility, forgiveness, kindness, and love.
The question is, “Which wolf wins?”
***
The one we feed.
***
When do I feed that evil wolf within?
And when do I feed the good one?
***
That evil wolf never dies without a fight, which is why the path to holiness can be difficult.
It’s not always easy to choose forgiveness over anger; selflessness over selfishness; chastity over lust; or silence over gossip.
But the more we feed that good wolf, the easier it becomes. May the Lord give us the grace we need to feed the right wolf today.
***
