Daily Gospel Reflection

Harden Not Your Hearts

Hi, I'm Matthew Kelly. Welcome back to Radical and Relevant, where we're exploring the genius of Jesus, the genius of the Gospel, the genius of Catholicism. Today's gospel, as always, we're looking for a word or a phrase or an idea that jumps out at you to anchor your day, a teaching to anchor your day and help you focus on throughout the day. Today's reading is from the Gospel of Mark 8:14-21. "Now they had forgotten to bring bread, and they had only one loaf with them in the boat. And Jesus cautioned them, saying, 'Take heed: beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.' And they discussed it with one another, saying, 'We have no bread.' And being aware of it, Jesus said to them, 'Why do you discuss the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember? When I broke the five loaves for the 5,000, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?' They said to him, '12.' 'And the seven for the 4,000, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?' And they said to him, '7.' And he said to them, 'Do you not yet understand?'

So many great lines in this short reading. "Do you not yet understand?" I think the important thing is we don't. It's important to have that humility and to understand and always to approach the Scriptures with the understanding that we don't understand and the humility of childlike curiosity. But the line that jumps out at me today is this one: "Are your hearts hardened?" The reality is, is that we have to harden our hearts sometimes to survive in this world. We go through things in our lives that require us to harden our hearts. Otherwise, we just get eaten up. But the reality is, is that if our hearts get hardened toward God, if our hearts get hardened toward other people, then our hearts get hardened toward the gospel, and the gospel cannot penetrate the hardened heart. And so, how is God calling you to soften your heart today? Who is God calling you to soften your heart towards? God bless you. Have an amazing day. Don't just be yourself; be the very best version of yourself. Remember, be bold, and be Catholic.