40 Shades of Lent by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Thursday, Third Week in Lent, 27 March 2025
Jeremiah 7:23-28 + + + Luke 11:14-23
Oh God...
I can hear your voice
so loud today;
your words are meant for us
though you have proclaimed
it thousands of years ago
through Prophet Jeremiah.
Thus says the Lord: This is what I commanded my people: Listen to my voice; then I will be your god and you shall be my people. Walk in all the ways that I commanded 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 from me. Say to them: This is the nation which does not listen to the voice of the Lord, its God, or take correction. Faithfulness has disappeared; the word itself is banished from their speech (Jeremiah 7:23-24, 28).
God our Father,
we have become so possessed
by the deaf mute demon
you exorcised by Jesus
in today's gospel:
almost everyone has that
thing plugged into the ears,
listening by themselves,
speaking by themselves,
laughing by themselves,
walking by themselves
unmindful of the persons around,
not hearing the cries of the poor
and suffering,
not caring at all to those
slumped on the floor due to
failures and sickness
even death;
living in their own world
wired to technology
but never to one's self,
to others
and to God.
Forgive us, O God,
in rejecting you so many times,
in believing more in ourselves,
to our technology than to you;
open not only our ears
but also our hearts to listen to you;
a long time ago,
it was deemed crazy to be walking
speaking to one's self,
or laughing alone
but today
it has become a mark of honor
and prestige when people
talk alone,
laugh alone
with the aide of blue tooth;
we have been so foolish,
Lord that despite all these
technologies and affluence
of today,
we are more lost because
we walk aimlessly to nowhere
as we have forgotten to listen to you
for directions in life.
Amen.
lordmychef.com 