THURSDAY OF THE THIRD WEEK OF LENT, MARCH 11, 2021

MASS READINGS

A reading from the Book of the Prophet 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.

REFLECTION: Listen to my voice; then I will be your God and you shall be my people.

The curious reporter asked the leader of a religious community, “what do you and your sisters in the community say to God when you gather together for prayer?”

The sister replied, “We say nothing. We just listen”

“Oh!” The reporter sighed. “What does God say to you then?”

And the sister, with a twinkle in her eyes, replied, “Nothing. God just listens.”

Source: Unknown.

The Chinese symbol for “listening” is made of several characters: you, the ears, eyes, undivided attention and the heart. To really listen one must not only use both ears but also the heart! To truly listen one must be fully present, wholeheartedly, offering undivided attention to the other.

When God speaks, He wants us to listen, pay heed, obey, answer, take correction, pray and worship. We are not to become stiff necked nor banish His Word from our speech nor from our day to day life. If we can't listen, ask for this grace until you receive it.

Have you ever felt like you were being ignored? Do you ever feel like you don’t matter, you don’t count? As if no one cared about anything you had to say? This is not from God.

What do we hear when we listen to the one we love and the one who loves us? When someone listens to us do we feel loved and real?

Dear friends, listen to God as He listens to us.

Focus on God and He will be your God and we will be His people.