40 Shades of Lent by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II Thursday in the Third Week of Lent, 16 March 2023 Jeremiah 7:23-28 >>> + <<< Luke 11:14-23
Lord, teach me to listen. Let me not harden my heart if today I hear your words, O Lord. Your people in Jeremiah's time have indeed committed the most grave sin of disregarding your covenant:
Thus says the Lord: This is what I commanded my people: Listen to my voice; then I will be your God and you shall be my people. Walk in all the ways that command you, so that you may prosper. But they obeyed not, nor did they pay heed. They walked in the hardness of their evil hearts and turned their backs, not their faces, to me.
Jeremiah 7:23-24
But we are no different from them, Lord! We are like them, totally disregarding your commands, walking in the hardness of our evil hearts and turned our backs, not our faces, from you! Worst than the time of Jeremiah, we have imitated the people at the time of Jesus, accusing him too of casting out demons by the power of Beelzebul when media glorify satanic cults, promoting same sex relationships, abortion, and contraception; when we speak about life and justice, we are laughed upon and when we cry for decency, we are accused of hypocrisy.
Teach us to listen to your words, O Lord; enable us to distinguish your voice from that of the world and the devil; most of all, help us gather than scatter. Amen.
