"For every tree is known by its own fruit."

The theme of this week's readings is simple: be someone who bears good fruit! In the first reading, from the Book of Sirach, we hear "The fruit of a tree shows the care it has had; so too does one’s speech disclose the bent of one’s mind." Essentially, Sirach is telling us that the words that we use and the way that we speak says much about our character and the interior life of a person. Someone may be the nicest and most caring person in the world, but if the things they say are awful, even their care will not bear much fruit.

In the Gospel, Jesus speaks about similar things. He says, "A good person out of the store of goodness in his heart produces good, but an evil person out of a store of evil produces evil; for from the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks." So, once again, Jesus is reminding us about the importance of our hearts. The interior work of transforming our hearts takes precedence, making sure that we aren't "faking it," as that almost always leads to fruit that doesn't last. If our internal life isn't reflected in the ways that we speak and act, if the fruit we bear isn't good fruit, then there is cause for concern. 

St. Paul, however, lays it our clear as day when he says "When this which is corruptible clothes itself with incorruptibility and this which is mortal clothes itself with immortality then the word that is written shall come about: Death is swallowed up in victory. Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" Essentially, we are meant to be clothing ourselves in Christ, allowing our hearts to be transformed into his heart. If all we do is speak and act, but there is no change in our hearts, then all that we have done is for naught and the fruit we bear will quickly rot, causing more damage than good.

So, as we move forward this week and prepare for Lent, surrounded by a political and social culture in which performative action and speech are more important than having integrity, let us remember that a Christian should be different. The lives of the saints show us clearly that a life of integrity and of transforming our hearts, being a Christian from the inside out, is the way Christ has set before us and the best way to bear fruit. If we are not working on that, perhaps we should look to Lent as a time to try and make a change.

Want to prepare your heart and mind for Sunday's Mass? Click here to find the readings.