St. Joseph's Catholic Church

If you choose, you can keep the commandments

On this Sixth Sunday of the year, the Word of God places before us a serious and liberating truth: we are free, and our choices matter.

In the Book of Sirach, we hear, “If you choose, you can keep the commandments… Before you are life and death, good and evil.” God does not manipulate us into holiness. He respects our freedom. He shows us the path of life, but He allows us to decide whether we will walk in it. This means our spiritual growth is not accidental. It is the fruit of daily decisions.

In the Gospel from Gospel of Matthew, Jesus deepens this truth. He says, “You have heard that it was said… but I say to you.” He is not abolishing the law; He is fulfilling it. He is moving us from a religion of external compliance to a faith of interior transformation.

It is possible to live a minimal Christianity — to say, “I did not kill; I did not commit adultery; I did not steal.” But Jesus goes further. He tells us that anger can be as destructive as violence, lust as damaging as adultery, and careless words as harmful as false oaths. The real battlefield is the human heart. Sin does not begin with action; it begins with attitude. It grows in thoughts, in resentment, in hidden compromises.

This teaching becomes very practical when we examine our relationships. How do we speak to our spouse, our children, our parishioners, or even strangers online? Many homes are wounded not by dramatic crimes but by sharp words, silent grudges, and unresolved anger. Jesus tells us that reconciliation is urgent. Before we approach the altar, we must examine whether we are at peace with our brothers and sisters. Holiness is not an isolated project; it is lived in community.

Today, then, we are invited to choose life — not in dramatic gestures, but in daily fidelity. If we take this seriously, our parish, our families, and our own hearts will gradually become places where the law of God is not merely observed but joyfully lived.