Turning toward God, Not Away from Him

In today's first reading, Jeremiah 7: 23-28, the Lord says to us through the prophet: "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."

Have you, have I, have we turned our backs on the Lord and walked away from Him? Or do we turn our faces to the Lord and in faith walk with Him and toward Him?  In hope and in faith and in love, do we keep going forward no matter how difficult the journey might be? Or do we return to "the flesh pots of Egypt," to our whims, urges and impulses, walking away from doing what we know is right and choosing the easier path that makes no demands upon us? When challenged to go forward, do we say to people, either in word or action: "Leave me alone. I've done enough! I'm too tired. I'm too old! I'm too young!"

No matter what, God always walks along side us on the journey of faith, giving us the strength, the courage, and the wisdom we need to move forward!  Not only is God with us on our way to heaven, so, too, are all the saints, those who have gone before us and those here on earth making the journey with us to our eternal homes! And furthermore, the angels, especially our guardian angel, walks with us as well!

Lord, forgive us for the times when we have turned our backs to you and give us the strength to turn back to you again and again in faith, hope and love!

Heeding God's Words, God's Voice, God's Commands

In today's responsorial psalm, God says to us: "If today you hear [my] voice, harden not your hearts."  In the first reading, Jeremiah 7: 23-28, the Lord says to the Israelites and to us: 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."  Saddened, God tells us that "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....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 has banished from their speech." Is that also true of you and me? Is that true of our nation, our country, our city, our society, our family, our religious communities, our parishes?

Satan, a fallen intelligent angel, roams the world seeking souls to devour. In no way does He want us to listen to God's voice. He and those angels who followed him did not!  They lost their home in heaven and no way want us to achieve that goal!  May we take heed of God's voice directing us, guiding us, beckoning us to do God's will, keep God's commandments, listening to the prophets in our midst, some of them children used by God to direct us toward the good.