Lenten Moments of Mercy: Wednesday of the Third Week of Lent

Wednesday of the Third Week of Lent   Lent is a season to reflect more deeply on God’s will.

Scripture “But take care and watch yourselves closely, so as neither to forget the things that your eyes have seen nor to let them slip from your mind all the days of your life; make them known to your children and your children’s children.” Deuteronomy 4:9   Reflection If there is any word that disturbs people in our society, it is the wordobedience. When we look for definitions of the verb “to obey” in the dictionary we find that it means to comply with a command or direction, to do what someone says, to carry out the orders of someone in authority. In our hyper-individualistic world, we rankle at the thought of someone imposing his or her will on our behavior. This influences our reaction to the readings from Scripture which call us to obey God and his teachings. In the languages of both Old and New Testaments, the verb “to obey” means “to listen to.” Obedience in the Bible then has to do with listening to the call of God with an open heart and giving a wholehearted response. Obedience is a heart to heart relationship with God. So when we ask ourselves the question “what is God calling us to do in our lives?” we find in the Old Testament the basic statutes and ordinances God is calling us to follow, most importantly the Ten Commandments and the important commentaries we find on them from the prophets. God is calling us to understand the centrality of making him the center of our lives which we act out in caring for our sisters and brothers. In Matthew 5:17–19, Jesus also tells us clearly that these are his most important priorities. We are to listen to who God is calling us to be as his disciples and recognize that through Jesus, the Father’s deepest desires for us will be fulfilled.

Pope Francis “So how does the Holy Spirit act in our life and in the life of the Church in order to guide us to the truth? First of all, he recalls and impresses in the heart of believers the words Jesus spoke and, through these very words, the law of God—as the Prophets of the Old Testament had foretold—is engraved in our heart and becomes within us a criterion for evaluation in decisions and for guidance in our daily actions. ” General Audience, 15 May 2013   Lenten Action ► Follow this up with a reading of one of the prophets who especially interests you. ► Pray with a 3-Minute Retreat.   Prayer Lord, let us listen to your words which are for us spirit and life.

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