The Catholic Calendar for Thursday, March 23, 2006
Thursday of the Third Week of Lent
St. Toribio de Mogrovejo, bishop

Scripture from today's Liturgy of the Word:
Jeremiah 7:23-28
Psalm 95:1-2, 6-9
Luke 11:14-23

A reflection on today's Sacred Scripture:

The readings for today have some graphic, interesting imagery. In the first reading from Jeremiah, God is urging that we listen attentively to His voice and heed His messages -- a timeless bit of advice.

However, there is one phrase that's especially revealing: "They walked in the hardness of their evil hearts and turned their backs, not their faces, to me."

Haven't we all encountered someone doing that? They look right at you, perhaps smiling, and yet do quite the opposite thing. This is so common that there is a derogatory phrase to describe such folks as: "Yes people!"! We however, can't fool God in actions like this ...and it is nothing new!

There's another, perhaps more startling phrase in the gospel: "Whoever is not with me, is against me; and whoever does not gather with me, scatters." (Luke 11:14-23) This is not exactly an ambiguous statement! The truth is laid right out for us!

In summary, we can ask ourselves today as we continue on our Lenten journey, if we are "yes people" in the best sense of the word. And in addition to standing with Christ, are we attempting to gather others into Christianity, at least by our example.

- Joan of Jesus, OCDS
(jmurphy at utica dot edu)

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