Did your mom really say that if you weren't home by 11 she would ground you forever?

Did you teacher really say that if you copied one little sentence you'd fail for plagiarizing?

Did your dad really say that he'd make you eat the whole pack if he caught you smoking one cigarette?

Does the law really say you'll go to jail for stealing one small thing from the store?

Will you really get pregnant if you sleep with someone this one time?

Will your friend really find out that you went to this amazing party she wasn't invited to and then 'break-up' with you?

Will your boyfriend really mind if you make-out with this other guy?

Did God really tell you not to eat from any of the trees in the garden?

One time someone told me that things that start with D are from the Devil, like doubt, despair, degradation (okay she didn't say that last one, but I couldn't think of another D word just now...). 

Today's reading reminds me about doubt and excuses. The Devil is making Eve doubt. She made a decision about loving God and all she wants to do is love him. She wasn't even thinking about eating from that tree, she was just admiring it because it had some nice flowers - but then the devil comes over and says "Go ahead, have a bite, it's the tastiest fruit in the whole garden, it's delicious, you'll love it, have a bite, go ahead, it won't kill you." 

But it will. It did. While Adam and Eve went on living after eating the fruit from this tree, their free and open relationship with God died. The fruit didn't kill them, but it did kill something in the garden that day.

This is how Satan gets us too. It's just a small seed of doubt about something. It's only a candy bar. It was only a kiss. It was just that one time. It's 15 minutes after curfew. It's one sentence I copied and didn't cite. It's just this one thing. 

But it's not just one thing, it's the relationship we have with our parents, our friends, and our God. It's breaking the trust that our relationship is built upon. It's thinking that we can violate the relationship and everything will still remain the same forever. 

Yes, there is always forgiveness. I will never doubt God's mercy. There's also justice. Adam and Eve were forgiven. Jesus died on the cross for them too. But their relationship was eternally altered, and in turn ours as well. Eating the fruit wasn't a mistake; it was a deliberate disobedience. Eve was tricked by the devil. He made something evil look good. Remind you of any sins you're regularly committing? I know that I only commit sins that look good in the moment and give me a second of pleasure.

Do you regularly make excuses for your behavior, justifying it as 'just this one time so no big deal'?

Are there any bad habits you need to examine and see if they are actually ways in which the devil is tempting you?

Do you doubt that God can forgive you and you can heal the relationship?

"I love you Lord."

"I need you Lord."

​"I want to serve you better Lord."

Choose to fast from something that's good but regularly causes you to sin, even in small ways, for the rest of today. This might be snapchat or hanging with particular friends or going to a certain movie or something else.

Jesus sounds like He's having a rough day in this passage. The first time I heard it I thought, "wow, Jesus was pretty rude there." However, although this may sound crazy, Jesus is inviting this woman to make a loving act of faith in humility and trust. He also teaches us a great lesson here too.

It's not a coincidence that St. Mark includes where this woman is from when he writes this account. The woman is from Greece and scholars believe that she was not a Jew, but a Pagan. The Greeks did not worship God, they practiced idolatry and rejected the idea of God. So why would this woman be coming to Jesus and why is it important that we know about this event? Well, the Messiah that the prophets foretold was said to be a New David, who would restore his kingdom that was for all nations, as Isaiah 55:5 says, "nations that knew you not shall run to you." Jesus comes first to the Jews, but His mission was to establish the Kingdom of God and defeat sin and death for all people of all nations. Here is an example of this through the mother who is concerned for her daughter. She is from a nation who does not know God but she is now boldy approaching Jesus, imploring His help.

So why is Jesus seemingly so mean to her? This woman has acknowledged Jesus' power to heal the sick and desires His help out of love for her daughter. But Jesus wants her to go deeper. He wants her to move beyond whatever stereotypes she has and be truly humble, to fully trust in Him. He calls her to make an act of complete faith with complete humility. The Jews were God's chosen people, but Jesus shows us that He is here to help all those who come to Him in trust and humility. 

It may seem a little harsh to us, but we can learn from this too. There can be a temptation to only hang out with people who are similar to ourselves. It's easy to make judgments about people and to look down on them. It can be really hard for me to go out and love everyone equally. But Jesus does. He calls us all on through whatever way we need (even if it is referring to us as a dog) to get us to trust and love Him, to really make a genuine act of faith. God will do whatever it takes to win your heart and give you whatever healing you need. So follow His example and love others in a way that is unconditional and always focused on serving the other person.

​Jesus does not condemn us based on where we are from or what our pasts are, but He does call us to a relationship that recognizes who He is: our loving Savior who seeks your heart to bring it to eternal life. Recognize who God is and lovingly invite those around you to do the same, no matter who they are. 

How has God invited you into a deeper relationship through challenging situations?

How can you respond to God with the same humility and trust as the woman from today's Gospel?

Who is someone that you would not normally talk to that could use Christ's love today? In what ways do you need God's help to reach out to them? 

"I trust you."

"I humble myself before you."

​"Have mercy on me."

Today, be really humble and love unconditionally. This will be difficult, but good thing God gives us the graces we need to do this. Be humble before God and acknowledge your need of His love and mercy. Be humble with the people you encounter throughout the day and love them like Christ does. Do not condemn them with your thoughts or words, but love them, even if all that means is that you hold a door open for someone or don't fight with your little sibling. Whatever you do, be like Christ.

Use the following meditation to help you reflect more deeply on the Scripture (you may want to read the passage again).

Today's readings make me a bit hungry. The Lord made us and knew we would need nourishment, and so He created food. He didn't need to create food. Couldn't we have gotten all our energy from anywhere else? If God willed it, we could have, but He didn't. He gave us food, and he made it be delicious. Of course He wants us to enjoy it, He made bacon after all, and tacos, and chocolate, and He made it all good.

Until last year, I never associated food and my faith. Then I read The Catholic Table by Emily Stimpson-Chapman, and my views totally changed. This book was the best book I read in 2018 and changed my outlook on food, eating, cooking, fasting, and feasting. I highly recommend that you go get a copy ASAP. Through the author's words, I saw that God made food, and it was good. Food sustains me. I need it to function. I need a granola bar beore a long run, or I'll feel weak. I need a small piece of chocolate at 2:15, because it is a small treat in my day and it makes me a happier human.

​Yet, just because food is there, doesn't mean I should indulge. Because if that 2:15 chocolate break turns into a king size candy bar, in half an hour, I will feel sick. Fasting should be part of our lives as it encourages us to build spiritual strength. But if you fast, you also must feast and celebrate what God has given you. This concept isn't always easy to understand. In fact, Adam and Eve totally failed at it. God asked them to abstain from one tree in a garden of delicious food, and they couldn't do it. That's where the first reading ends today, but our story with food doesn't end there because the redemption of Adam and Eve was Jesus's death on the cross. And what did He do before His death? He gave us the Eucharist. He gave us food and nourishment for when He was no longer here. So today, find the deliciousness that God has given us at the dinner table, but also thank Him for feeding us through the Eucharist.

These questions are to be used to talk to God; have a conversation with the Lord about these questions and what is going on in your heart as you pray today.

​Where do I get my physical nourishment from? Where do I get my spiritual nourishment from?

When do I tend to overindulge? How can I reorient myself towards a proper balance feasting and fasting?

How can I incorporate fasting into my life more?

In this step, you listen. Stop talking, let God speak to your heart. You may repeat one of these short phrases to focus your mind on the Lord.

​"You are the bread of life."

"You provide food for the journey."

"You nourish my soul."

In light of today's reading and your time spent in prayer with the Lord, what concrete action or actions will you take to let this encounter with the Lord bear fruit in you today?

​When you go to eat today, say a prayer of thanksgiving to God for the nourishment He has provided you with (and the people who have prepared it!).

“This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.”

Gut-check time. What kind of person are you? Today’s Gospel gives us two options: one who is more of a Pharisee, or one who is more like an apostle. 

How often it is that each and every one of us becomes someone who is so devoted to God in our outward actions and appearances but yet is barely connected to him in their heart? If you’re anything like me, it’s seemingly pretty often, and today you are convicted to ask the big question: why?

The first reading today recounts the beautiful story of God creating man. The beauty of the Garden, God’s promise to give us everything we could ever need, and the fact that we are the pinnacle of his creation all ring through the beautiful account of Genesis. The Garden was truly a place where man honored God with their lips and their hearts were close to him.

But we know the rest of the story— sin enters the world as our first parents chose to reject God’s promise. The result is that our hearts become ransomed by our pursuit of pleasure and our desire to be the “gods” of our lives. Time and again, God offers us all of himself, and we find a way to turn our hearts away from him. The problem we face, the same problem the Pharisees faced in the Gospel reading, is the problem of self-reliance. We don’t want to trust God with our hearts and with our lives because we think we can be the masters of our own lives. We know the Law and we know what we are supposed to do and say to appear to be disciples, just like the Pharisees, but there is a fundamental disconnect between our outward actions and our hearts because we don’t want to give God everything.

Today, God is putting each of us to the test— will we trust him not only with the outward actions: half-hearted prayer, going to Mass, attending our youth groups; or will we trust him in the biggest way we can and give him our hearts?

Don't be a Pharisee. Don't simply do the actions you think God wants you to do without also giving him your heart. Honor God with your lips and let your heart rest in him. 

How am I trusting God to be my everything?

Is my heart resting in God when I do the outward actions of a disciple?

How can I let my heart rest in God more today?

"You are my all."

"Jesus, I trust in you."

​"Let my heart rest in you alone."

Take time today to think about all of the Christian actions you perform and ask yourself if your heart is resting in God as you do them. If the answer is that you are simply doing actions and not giving God your heart, pick one way you can begin to give God your heart and not just your words or actions.