Daily Inspiration

Jesus said: “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You pay tithes of mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier things of the law: judgment and mercy and fidelity. But these you should have done, without neglecting the others. Blind guides, who strain out the gnat and swallow the camel! “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You cleanse the outside of cup and dish, but inside they are full of plunder and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee, cleanse first the inside of the cup, so that the outside also may be clean.” -Matthew 23:23-26
 
There was a time when I focused on the wrong things in life. I valued and stored up the world's tinsel while neglecting the accumulation of heaven’s treasure. On the outside, I was clean, while my inside was stained with indulgence, leading me to a place of eternal regret. Yet, even after all I’ve seen, there are times when the tinsel still catches my eye, drawing me away from what is truly important.
 
The enemy wants us to be disordered and focused on the wrong things in this life. He lures us to focus on the senseless things in our physical lives while our souls remain tarnished by sin. To be clean inside and out, we must first change our focus and bring proper order into our being. When we place God first, everything else falls into place. 
 
Invite God in and spend more time with Him. Read His Word, meet Him in Adoration, receive His forgiveness in confession, and His Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity in the Eucharist. Model your life after His saints who have come before you. As His order returns, we see the tinsel for what it is: a distraction from the only thing of real importance, our life with God.
 
Saint Monica, pray for us.
 
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Jesus, I trust in you.