First Reading
Jeremiah 7:23-28
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 I 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.
From the day that your fathers left the land of Egypt even to this day,
I have sent you untiringly all my servants the prophets.
Yet they have not obeyed me nor paid heed;
they have stiffened their necks and done worse than their fathers.
When you speak all these words to them,
they will not listen to you either;
when you call to them, they will not answer you.
Say to them:
This is the nation that does not listen
to the voice of the LORD, its God,
or take correction.
Faithfulness has disappeared;
the word itself is banished from their speech.
Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9
R. (8) If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Come, let us sing joyfully to the LORD;
let us acclaim the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us joyfully sing psalms to him.
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Come, let us bow down in worship;
let us kneel before the LORD who made us.
For he is our God,
and we are the people he shepherds, the flock he guides.
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Oh, that today you would hear his voice:
“Harden not your hearts as at Meribah,
as in the day of Massah in the desert,
Where your fathers tempted me;
they tested me though they had seen my works.”
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Gospel
Luke 11:14-23
Jesus was driving out a demon that was mute,
and when the demon had gone out,
the mute man spoke and the crowds were amazed.
Some of them said, “By the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons,
he drives out demons.”
Others, to test him, asked him for a sign from heaven.
But he knew their thoughts and said to them,
“Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste
and house will fall against house.
And if Satan is divided against himself,
how will his kingdom stand?
For you say that it is by Beelzebul that I drive out demons.
If I, then, drive out demons by Beelzebul,
by whom do your own people drive them out?
Therefore they will be your judges.
But if it is by the finger of God that I drive out demons,
then the Kingdom of God has come upon you.
When a strong man fully armed guards his palace,
his possessions are safe.
But when one stronger than he attacks and overcomes him,
he takes away the armor on which he relied
and distributes the spoils.
Whoever is not with me is against me,
and whoever does not gather with me scatters.”
REFLECTION
SOURCE: One Bread One Body
TITLE: HARD SPOTS
"Oh, that today you would hear His voice: 'Harden not your hearts.' " –Psalm 95:7-8
Jeremiah fearlessly proclaimed that the people would not listen to God, had turned their backs on God, and were stiff-necked (Jer 7:24, 26). They had hardened their hearts.
Jesus delivered a man from an evil spirit that kept the man mute. The Pharisees did not rejoice, but accused Jesus of having the devil at work in Him (Lk 11:15). They were hard of heart.
Where are the hard spots in your life? Possibly you mistakenly think long-time works of the Spirit to be merely human traditions. Maybe you're not hardened to the old, but you doubt any new work of the Spirit. You may be hard of heart toward a particular denomination, country, or race. Are you open to God working in North Korea? Have you tried lately to have Christian fellowship with brothers and sisters of a different race?
Often we're hard of heart closer to home. How many husbands actually listen to their wives? How many wives can see past the faults of their husbands? How many parents can accept their children right where they are? We all have hard spots. Only Jesus can touch and soften the human heart.
Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.
PRAYER: Father, during this Lent, crack the crust around my heart; peel it off, melt me, and make my heart like Yours.
PROMISE: "But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out devils, then the reign of God is upon you." –Lk 11:20
PRAISE: Lorie forgave the woman who committed adultery with her husband.
...may the good Lord bless His holy word in our hearts...
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