What Truly Defines Us

If we were to rewrite today’s Gospel, we could say:

“What makes a person is not what he eats, wears, or owns, but what he does.”

The Old Concept of Impurity

In Jesus’ time, the Jews had many religious laws. They believed that touching certain objects made them impure and unworthy of God’s grace.

But Jesus corrected this misunderstanding. He explained that food simply passes through the body—it does not defile a person. Instead, true impurity comes from within. He listed the real dangers to the soul: fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly.

The New Concept of Impurity

Many people think these old ideas of impurity are outdated, but are they really?

Today, more than ever, we are obsessed with keeping our bodies healthy while neglecting our souls.

We carefully check food labels:

• “Don’t eat that—it’s too fatty!”

• “That has too much sugar!”

• “Avoid this—it causes cancer!”

We protect ourselves from sickness:

• If someone is contagious, we avoid them.

• If a place is polluted, we stay away.

But do we show the same concern for our souls?

A Modern Example

Imagine if someone told us that a certain movie causes cancer—we would never watch it.

But what if a movie poisons our soul by promoting sin? Do we avoid it?

If a person is sick, we stay away to protect our health.

But if a person leads us into sin, do we distance ourselves?

What Truly Matters

This is not about ignoring our health—Jesus never told people to stop washing their hands.

And I am not telling you to stop taking care of your body.

But Jesus teaches us that the soul is far more valuable than the body.

• The body will return to dust.

• The soul will stand before God.

So we must be even more careful to avoid the things that pollute the soul.

Let us ask for the grace to see impurity as God sees it—so that we may protect not just our bodies, but our eternal souls.