Lent clarifies our priorities & responsibilities

40 Shades of Lent by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Thursday in the Second Week of Lent, 29 February 2024
Jeremiah 17:5-10   ><))))*> + ><))))*> + ><))))*>     Luke 16:19-31

Teach us, Father,
to realize anew our
priorities in life this Lent;
make us begin anew
in this holy season to 
prioritize on you and
spirituality than material
things especially wealth.

Probe our hearts, O God,
and remove our many attachments
to things that pass and fade,
that hinder us from growth
and maturity, preventing us
from experiencing fulfillment
in you.

Thus says the Lord: Cursed is the man who trusts in human beings, who seeks his strength in flesh, whose heart turns away from the Lord. He is like a barren bush in the desert that enjoys no change of season, but stands in a lava waste, a salt and empty earth. Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose hope is the Lord. He is like a tree planted beside the waters that stretches out its roots to the stream: It fears not the heat when it comes, its leaves stay green; in the year of drought it shows no distress, but still bears fruit.

Jeremiah 17:5-8

When you become the priority
in our lives, God,
then we become more responsible
with our neighbors too;
we become concerned with everyone,
especially the poor and those in need,
we become our brother's keeper,
thinking about the good of others
unlike the rich man
in today's parable;
grant us the grace
in Jesus Christ
to have a heart that feels
the hunger and thirst of the poor,
the pains and anguish of
 the sick and dying,
enabling us to do good
in others.
Amen.