Our growth in the spiritual life begins with a process of purification.  If we are to live in the presence of God and cooperate with his Spirit and grace then we must undergo a process of transformation which begins with our purification from our interior imperfections.  The classic stages of spiritual growth are Purification, Enlightenment and Transforming Union.  Before we can get to the process of enlightenment we must first be cleansed from any impurities caused by sin.  This process of purification is an ongoing, lifelong process that happens in our life through the work of God’s merciful grace upon us.  Just like our mothers always reminded us, before we can come to the table we have to wash up and go through a process of purification.  Moms don’t want us bringing our dirty hands to their dinner tables.  While we are active in the world we are going to get our hands dirty from the various things that we are going to be handling.  Both play and work result in soiled hands.  Washing before a meal is expected.  God also wants us to be cleansed before we come to the table of the Lord.

    In the seventh chapter of the gospel of Mark, the religious leaders of Jesus’ time are criticizing the disciples of Jesus for not undergoing ritual purifications before they eat.  Certainly they are correct in pointing out the need for purification.  Jesus doesn’t have any problems with purification laws but he does point out that we miss the point of true purification if we are only cleansing the outside of our bodies.  Washing our hands is a minimum requirement of purification but we are missing the point of purification if we are only concerned with exterior washing.  The Lord is not only looking for clean hands, he wants us to have a clean heart.

    The response of Jesus to the criticism of the religious leaders points out a problem that we often have in the spiritual life.  Too often we are only concerned with appearances.  We go through rituals for others to see and to give the appearance of purity.  We may clean up nice and seem to be pure for awhile but purity, like beauty, is more than skin deep.  Our real struggle with impurity comes from sin that we are harboring within our hearts.  A little dirt on our hands does not defile us as much as the dirt of sin that we are often carrying in our interior being.  We may look clean and pure from the outside but many times we are carrying impurity in our hearts through our attitudes and thoughts about others.

    True purification is an interior process of conversion.  We have to be cleansed of the interior dispositions that are not worthy of the children of God.  A good hand brush is not going to touch the interior impurity that we are carrying in our hearts.  We need a new heart.  Getting our hands dirty in doing a little honest work or play is not a real problem in Jesus’ eyes.  The real problem is the interior stains of sin that cling to us because of our attitudes and thoughts.  We need to concern ourselves with these interior impurities before we can make any progress in the spiritual life.  Jesus points us to the real problem in our spiritual journey in pointing out: “The things that come out from within are what defile.  From within people, from their hearts, come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly. All these evils come from within and they defile.” (Mk 7,21ff)

    A deeper spiritual life requires deep conversion of our hearts.  The interior condition of our hearts needs to be our first concern.  If we do not have a pure heart then we will not have a suitable dwelling place for God in our lives.  As we look at the list that Jesus gives us many of us will see things that are familiar there.  These are the real problems that need to be addressed in our lives.  A quick wash of the hands is not going to touch these interior imperfections.  God sees our hearts and knows the condition of our interior being.  To purify our hearts and live free from these imperfections will give us the freedom to grow stronger in our spiritual relationship with God and pursue excellence, virtue and true holiness in our lives.  There is no soap that will touch these interior impurities, only the cleansing power of God’s Word and Spirit can wash us clean from within.  As St. James recommends to us:  “Humbly welcome the word that has been planted in you and is able to save your souls.  Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deluding yourselves.” (James 1,21f) Plant the Word of God in your heartand see what the Spirit of that Word can do in accomplishing a true interior transformation in your life.  Pray with the Psalmist:  “A clean heart create for me, God, renew in me a steadfast spirit.” (Ps 51,12)