In today's first reading, Ezekiel 18: 1-10, 13b, 30-32, God says to us through the prophet: "If a man is virtuous...he shall surely live,...But if he...is a thief, a murderer, or lends at interest and exacts usury...[he] certainly shall not live. Because he practiced all these abominations, he shall surely die; his death shall be his own fault."
Imagine the following conversation with the Lord in prayer:
"Lord, I turn over to You all those who are involved in what seems insurmountable, larger-than-life 'mountains' of criminality, deception, and corrupt engagements and decisions that have or will have caused incredible suffering throughout the whole world. Lord, please have mercy on us and bring those directly involved in evil or those corroborating with the wicked to justice. May their "empires" collapse and their illusionary power be destroyed. If you will it, Lord, You can do it, that is, you can bring all people to repentance and to a change of heart, choosing to abandon evil and turn toward the good!"
Of course I will it. The wicked shall be stripped of all power in My timing. So, too, will those who collaborate with those involved in evil. I am a God of justice. I see the evil ways, the ways of untruth, and the corrupt behaviors being enacted by persons throughout the world. I hear the cries of those who are victims of their crimes. I am not deaf to the cries of the poor.
Just as I did not spare the wicked in Noah's time nor the wicked of Sodom and Gomorrah's time, neither will I spare the wicked of this day and time in any country. Everyone will be given the opportunity to turn from evil and do what is good; everyone will be given the chance to repent and change their lives. Anyone who chooses to continue in his/her evil ways, however, chooses death, not life. Death, as I said through Ezekiel, the prophet, "shall be his/her own fault". I choose life for everyone, not death!
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