Mar. 8, 2018 Thursday: 3rd Week of Lent

Mar. 8, 2018 Thursday: 3rd Week of Lent

I have sent you untiringly all my servants the prophets. (Jeremiah 7:25)

Did you know that approximately 205 billion e-mails are sent every day? This means people send almost 74 trillion e-mails each year. That’s a lot of messages whizzing around cyberspace!

As immense as this number might seem, consider this: the number of messages God will send us in our lifetimes might surpass even 74 trillion. Why? Because God loves to speak to us. He speaks in grand, expansive ways and in small, everyday ways. Nothing delights him more than connecting with us. He never wearies of sending us his messages of love, encouragement, hope, and direction. Just as he sent “untiringly all” his prophets to Israel, he now reaches out to us in the same way (Jeremiah 7:25). How, you may wonder? Let’s take a look:

Consider the last warm embrace you received from a loved one. Maybe it was just this morning. God was there too, wrapping his arms around you.

Think about the last time you were refreshed by the beauty of nature. God was telling you about how creative his love is. The words he spoke to St. Teresa of Ávila are for you too: “I would create the universe again, just to hear you say that you love me.”

We know that God speaks through the Scriptures. Every verse is like a letter from him. Today try to hear these verses in just that way, as God’s personal messages to you. “With age-old love I have loved you” (Jeremiah 31:3). “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name: you are mine” (Isaiah 43:1). “Behold, I make all things new” (Revelation 21:5).

The Mass is full of messages from God to you. When you are at Mass, try to imagine Jesus speaking the words of the consecration directly to you: “This is my Body, which will be given up for you.” “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you.”

Try to listen for God’s messages today. Tell him that you want to hear him and be careful to listen for his voice. Then when you hear him speak—even if it’s just a few words—write it down, and thank him for opening your heart.

“Jesus, thank you for all the ways you love me!”

-Reflection from Word Among Us, www.wau.org