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reading of the Book of Genesis in the
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day that the Lord made the Earth in the
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Heaven There was as yet no Bush of the
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field on the earth and no herb of the
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field had yet sprung up for the Lord God
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had not caused it to rain on the earth
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nor was there any man to cultivate the
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soil but a spring gushed out of the
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earth and watered its entire surface
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then the Lord God formed man from the
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breathed into his nostrils the breath of
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life and Man became a living being then
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the Lord God planted a garden in Eden in
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the East and there he placed the man he
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had formed and the Lord God made to grow
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out of the ground all sorts of trees
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with attractive appearance and fruit
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that were delicious to taste the Tree of
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Life in the midst of the garden and the
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tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil
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the Lord God took the man and placed him
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in the Garden of Eden to cultivate and
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keep it and the Lord God commanded the
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man man saying you may eat from every
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tree of the garden but you must not eat
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from the Tree of the knowledge of Good
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and Evil for in the day you do so you
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will certainly die word of the Lord
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God proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus
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Christ according to St Mark Glory To You
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Lord at that time Jesus called the crowd
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to him and said listen everyone and
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understand what makes a man unclean is
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not what enters him from outside but
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what comes out from within Whoever has
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ears to hear listen when Jesus entered
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the house away from the crowd the
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disciples asked him about this Parable
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Jesus said to them do you not even
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understand do you not understand that
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nothing that comes from outside and
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enters a person can make him unclean
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because it does not enter his heart but
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into his stomach and goes to the cpit
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thus Jesus declared that all foods were
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clean he said what comes out of man that
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is what makes him unclean for it is from
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within the human heart that evil
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intentions immorality theft murder
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adultery excessive Ambitions evil fraud
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debauchery Envy slander Pride lack of
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judgment all these bad things come from
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within and they are what make man
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unclean word of Salvation Glory To You
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Lord my dear Brothers and Sisters in
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Christ today we are invited by the
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readings to reflect on two fundamental
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aspects of our relationship with God in
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the world the gift of creation and
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purity of heart these two dimensions are
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deeply connected as the way we relate to
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Creation reflects the inner state of our
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heart let's start with the Genesis
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account imagine for a moment a great
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artist in his Studio he takes a piece of
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clay molds it with patience care and
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love until what was just clay takes
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shape life and Beauty this is how God
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created man the text tells us that he
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formed human beings from the dust of the
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ground and breathed into them the Breath
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of Life what a powerful image we are not
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just matter in US is the breath of of
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God himself God then places man in the
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Garden of Eden a paradise full of beauty
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and harmony with the mission of
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cultivating and guarding it this is the
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first human vocation to be guardian of
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creation God entrusts us with the
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responsibility of caring for the world
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he created of using resources wisely and
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gratefully however along with this
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privilege God gives a command you may
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eat of every tree in the garden but you
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shall not eat of the tree of the know of
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Good and Evil here we see the emergence
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of something fundamental human freedom
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God gives us the choice but with it
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responsibility now let's move on to
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Mark's gospel Jesus in his Divine wisdom
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reveals to us that true evil does not
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come from outside but from within from
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the human heart he says nothing that
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enters a man from without can make him
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unclean but what comes out of a man
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makes him unclean these these words call
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us to a deep reflection how is our heart
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let us think of the heart as a garden
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similar to Eden a garden needs to be
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cultivated watered and protected from
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Weeds if we do not take care of our
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heart the weeds of sin such as Envy
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Pride evil can grow and suffocate the
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good seeds that God planted in US
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therefore Jesus reminds us that what
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really matters is not what we do
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externally to appear good but the
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internal state of our heart now let's
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connect these two readings in Genesis we
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see a God who creates a good world and
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entrusts human beings with the care of
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his work in the gospel Jesus reminds us
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that this care begins within us in
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cultivating a pure and sincere heart
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when we neglect taking care of our inner
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self this is reflected in our actions
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and the way we treat the world around us
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let me share a story to illustrate this
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there was a woman who took care of a
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small garden in front of her house every
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day she watered the plants pulled the
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weeds and admired the flowers that grew
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one day however she began to get so busy
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with other tasks that she left the
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garden aside the weeds began to grow and
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soon the flowers withered a neighbor
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seeing the state of the garden asked why
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did you let this happen she replied I
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was so busy trying to fix everything
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around the house that I forgot to take
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the same happens with our hearts we
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could be so busy with external concerns
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work material Goods appearance that we
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forget to take care of what really
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matters our relationship with God and
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others but how can we take care of our
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heart Jesus gives us the answer
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vigilance and discernment we need to be
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vigilant about the thoughts and
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attitudes we allow into our hearts when
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we notice something that can take us
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away from God such as resentment or
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we must remove it just as we pull a weed
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from a garden furthermore we need to
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discern the voices we hear the world
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often tells us that success wealth and
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power are what really matter but Jesus
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reminds us that the true treasure is
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living with a Pure Heart full of love I
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would now like to propose a practical
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exercise for all of us throughout this
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week dedicate a few minutes each day to
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check ask yourself what is growing in
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the garden of my heart are there weeds
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that need to be removed am I growing
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flowers of kindness patience and
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compassion also think about how you are
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taking care of the garden of creation
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are we being responsible Guardians Of
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The World God has entrusted to us are we
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living in ways that reflect gratitude
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for the gift of creation the way we
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treat the world and others is a direct
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reflection of the state of our heart as
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I close this homy I want to leave you
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with an image to reflect on imagine a
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small stream of Crystal CLE water
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flowing through a garden it is clean
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refreshing and full of life but if we
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allow dirt to enter the stream it will
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become murky and polluted so is our
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heart when we keep it pure it is a
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source of life for ourselves and others
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when we neglect it we lose peace and
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alienate those around us let us ask God
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for the grace to be vigilant to take
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care of both our hearts and the world
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around us may we live as true guardians
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of creation and as disciples who reflect
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God's love and goodness in all things
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and above all let us remember that
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despite our weaknesses God never
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abandons us he is always ready to help
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us cultivate a pure heart and live in
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harmony with his creation
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amen St Michael the Archangel defend Us
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in battle be our protection against the
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wickedness and snares of the devil may
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God rebuke him we humbly pray and do
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thou o Prince of the Heavenly Host by
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the power of God cast into hell Satan
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and all the evil spirits who prowl
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throughout the world seeking the ruin of
