Today
is a world day of prayer. Our diocese
has asked those parishes who are designated as pilgrimage churches in the Year
of Mercy to recognize this day is a special way with prayers and the sacrament
of reconciliation. We will be offering
the sacrament today from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm in the John Paul 2 room in our
Catholic Life Center.
During the holy season of Lent, we hear from different prophets. Hosea is the minor Jewish prophet we hear
from in the first readings today and tomorrow during this 3rd week
of Lent. We
perhaps are as familiar with Hosea as we are with the more well-known prophets
Isaiah and Jeremiah and Ezekiel. Hosea
lived about 8 centuries before Christ’s birth.
Hosea had an unfaithful wife whom he stood by in the midst of her
offenses. Hosea’s relationship with his
wife mirrored God’s relationship with Israel, as Israel had abandoned God in
order to worship many other idols and false gods. God continues to love Israel and to honor his
covenant with his people. We
often turn away from our covenant with God as well. We don’t practice the love and mercy in our
daily lives that God calls us to live. We
don’t love God with our hearts and our souls and our minds. We don’t love our neighbor as ourselves. As we
pray for peace today, let us first look at the ways we need to renew our own
lives. That is where God calls us to start.
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