3rd Thursday of Lent
Jeremiah 7: 23-28; Luke 11: 14-23
Repeatedly, God called out to His people: “Listen to Me and live!” Almost every time, His summons was ignored or rejected. They found it too difficult to follow a God they could not see and preferred to follow their own lights. Consequently, they were left to their own designs, which usually ended in death and destruction. If only the people had listened to His voice, they would have known peace of heart and tranquility of soul. But they didn’t! Unfortunately, the human race hasn’t changed. We are still not listening.
If we are listening, we don’t seem to be hearing. The world is inundated with noise and it has become almost impossible to hear the promptings of that small, still voice echoing in the innermost chambers of our hearts. We have become so acclimated to the tumult and the din that solitude leaves us frightened and confused. Like addicts, we keep grabbing for more and more of what we don’t want. Lent is a time to fast from what keeps us from realizing the longings of our hearts.
God made us in His image and likeness. He placed in our souls a homing device that, if heeded, will draw us to Himself. Lent is a time for us to enter into the silence where we can hear the gentle voice of Him Who speaks to us from the Cross. There, with His arms suspended between heaven and earth, He takes possession of our hearts and wraps us in Love’s embrace.
If we do what is necessary to hear the call of Love, our hearts will become tender again and we will learn to love as we have been loved. God will remove our hearts of stone and replace them with hearts capable of love. Then we will no longer live our own lives, but Christ will live in us. Then the Father will see and love in us what He sees and loves in His Beloved Son. Then God’s Word will become our food for the journey and His love will become our delight.
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