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Thursday, March 3, 2016

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St. Katharine Drexel


Jeremiah 7:23-28
Psalm 95:1-2, 6-9
Luke 11:14-23

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hard — and hardening — hearts

"They walked in the hardness of their evil hearts." —Jeremiah 7:24

If today you hear God's voice, harden not your hearts (see Ps 95:7-8).

We can have hardening of our hearts for years, even for generations (Jer 7:26). For centuries, we can ignore God and become progressively worse than our fathers, who were worse than their fathers and grandfathers (see Jer 7:26). The hardening of hearts can be chosen not only by individuals but by nations (see Jer 7:28). Hard and hardening hearts can be generational, epidemic, deteriorating, and international. They can become so hard that we kill God's prophets, forget that there is faithfulness (Jer 7:28), accuse Jesus of working for the devil (Lk 11:15), become pawns of the devil, kill millions of babies in the womb, constantly watch sin on TV for entertainment, never bother to read the Bible, rebel against God's Church, and be involved in other related perversions, self-deceptions, and atrocities.

If today you hear God's voice, harden not your hearts.

Prayer:  Father, this Lent melt my heart and the most hardened hearts.

Promise:  "Come, let us bow down in worship; let us kneel before the Lord Who made us. For He is our God, and we are the people He shepherds, the flock He guides." —Ps 95:6-7

Praise:  For her last eighteen years, St. Katharine struggled with illness, yet chose to use this circumstance to intensify her focus on adoration and contemplation.

Reference:  (Hear God's voice by reading the Bible every day. Listen to or download these series on our website to help you. Overview of the Bible is six CD's starting with CD 10A-1 or three DVD's starting with DVD 10-A. 15-minute Bible Teaching - New Testament is forty CD's starting with #700. An Introduction to each book of the Bible is thirty-two CD's starting with CD 21-1 or seventeen DVD's starting with DVD 21.)

Rescript:  †Most Reverend Joseph R. Binzer, Auxiliary Bishop, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, September 28, 2015

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