---
title: The interior of the heart purified by Christ
url: https://www.faithfulnews.com/en/the-interior-of-the-heart-purified-by-christ
published: 2026-10-15T19:49:27+00:00
language: en
section: Culture and Ideas
source: https://www.cancaonova.com/homilia-capa/o-interior-do-coracao-reflete-jesus/
publisher: FaithfulNews
---

# The interior of the heart purified by Christ

The interior of man must be inhabited by God. At that time, while Jesus spoke, a Pharisee invited him to dinner. Jesus entered and reclined at the table. The Pharisee was astonished to see that Jesus had not washed his hands before the meal. The Lord said to the Pharisee: “You, Pharisees, cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but your inside is full of robbery and wickedness. Foolish ones!”. These are hard, strong words that lead us to reflection. Jesus reflects on a binomial: exterior and interior.

These are the two realities that appear here in today’s Gospel. The motivation was astonishment, right? A surprising admiration, says the text, from the Pharisee who invited Jesus to dinner and sees that He did not perform the handwashing. The handwashing was one of those 613 precepts derived from the Torah, which the Pharisees observed rigorously. In addition to the 10 commandments, the Pharisees had, as tradition, 613 precepts to be observed.

Interestingly, 248 of these precepts were positive, meaning, “do this”, “do that”. There was also an allusion, an interpretation: 248 was the number of bones in the human body, meaning, with your whole body, obey God. Then, 365 precepts were negative: “do not do this”, “do not do that”. An allusion to the days of the year, 365 days, each should rigorously show their love for God by observing all of this. Very well at the exterior level, exotic, but lacking the interior.

In the interior, cultivate the presence of God. And Jesus calls these Pharisees foolish, meaning, unreasonable, senseless, stupid, incapable of reflection. Jesus is very sincere because if one pays attention to the exterior, one forgets to cultivate the interior, the heart where God dwells. Therefore, if our heart belongs to God and is of God, our exterior will manifest this presence of the Lord. Therefore, more than worrying about exteriority, let us worry about interiority.

May the blessing of Almighty God descend upon you: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen!