It is clear already in the Old Testament that it is not our misdeeds which accuse us before God, but our hearts, fractured and divided as they are. Consistent with Israelite teaching, Jesus insists that we go deeper than our external deeds. The important question is what is going on in our hearts, the source of inner thoughts and motivations? The teaching is presented using various examples, presented sometimes with great simplicity, other times with irony and wit.

Prayer

O God, you read our hearts and you know us even better than we know ourselves. Let us trust your knowledge of us and your call to true conversion of heart, for you desire only our good that we may be both whole and holy.

Kieran O’Mahony, OSA