A LISTENING HEART - 03/24/22 (Thursday of the Third Week of Lent)

Luke 11:14-15,20,23

14 Now He was casting out a demon that was dumb; when the demon had gone out, the dumb man spoke, and the people marveled. 15 But some of them said, "He casts out demons by Be-el'zebul, the prince of demons";

20 But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. 

23 He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters.

For the full readings, click here: 

https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/daily-readings

Blessed Thursday! In the Old Covenant, God send His prophets for the people to know His ways. In the New Covenant, He sent His Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ. But, instead of seeing His miracles and exorcisms as signs from God, the people still questioned Him. They did not listen to Him, and they would rather believe that Jesus was using the power of evil spirits. The Father sent Jesus to heal them from their hardened hearts, but they did chose to blaspheme Him. Their hearts were not open to the will of God, and as such, their hearts remained hardened by their sins. 

After the Ascension of Jesus, He still guides us through the Catholic Church. He sends numerous saints for us to imitate them. He personally speaks through the Scriptures. There are also times when God allows us to meet devoted Catholics who will inspire us to do what is good. Unfortunately, there are times when we do not listen to our God, and we continue in our sinful ways. Like the people who were not listening to Him in our gospel reading, we may even misinterpret the Church or other people and think negative things about them. In reality, God reveals to us our sins through different means for us to repent of them and enter the Kingdom of God. Even if we believe in Jesus, we should be cautious when our hearts are not totally devoted to our Lord. This is why we remain weak and fall to many temptations. 

God also speaks to us when we commit sins and when we see other people who are not faithful to the teachings of the Church. Jesus is showing to us the necessity of making changes in our lives as we turn back to God. A radical transformation will only happen through our radical change as we cooperate with God's graces. After the people blasphemed against God, He made a statement we should reflect upon. Whoever is not with Him is against Him, and whoever does not gather with Him scatters. In our own lives, after we witness the evil things around us, Jesus is calling us repent for our sins and participate in His mission of bringing more souls to His Merciful Heart, not scandalizing them away.

Let's ponder on the reality of our sins and openness to the voice of God. What do we do when we realize that some of our actions are not pleasing to the Lord? Do we doubt the goodness of God and trust in our own ideas? Or, do we humble ourselves and listen to Him with an open heart? As we realize our sins, let's take this as an opportunity to repent for them and to grow in virtues. God will prepare us to be His instrument who will share the truth to other people and gather souls for Him. Let us also discern on how we can listen to Him more. We can do this by studying our faith, by reflecting on Scriptures, looking at the lives of the saints, examining our own conscience, and many more. As long as we listen to Jesus, He will increase our love for Him.

 

Amen +

 

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, be with us always until the hour of our death. Amen. +

 

May the Lord + bless us, protect us from all evil and bring us to everlasting life. Amen. +  

Reflection by: Dominic