Oh, that today you would listen to His voice!  D
o not harden your hearts as at Mer’i-bah,
as on the day of Mas’sah in the wilderness.  
Psalm 95: 7-8

 
Many times we sing the responsorial psalm, ‘If Today You Hear His Voice, Harden not Your Hearts’ Do you have a hardened heart… a place where you are not kind or loving… a place where you are not open to receive God’s graces in what is in front of you?
 
Today marks the half way point of Lent. Yeah! Lent is about prayer, fasting and almsgiving. Prayer is intimacy with God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit-the Trinity. “Prayer is nothing but a desire of the heart. If your desire is continuous, your prayer is continuous. Do you wish never to cease praying? Then never cease desiring.”  -St. Augustine - Fasting can be anything we avoid to ‘offer it up’ and deny ourselves, but it can also be giving up a way of acting like fasting from unkind behavior. Almsgiving is generous charitable works that include making donations of money to the needy or other charitable causes, or it can be making a gift of time and energy to others. So, how are we doing at this halfway point in Lent? If we are like the Israelites in the desert, we may be grumbling about now. (Exodus 17:1-7) We might be complaining it is too hard to fast from things; it takes too long to sit in silence… I am not getting anything out of this! OAnd oh yea, reading scripture is boring….. Or the BIG Excuse of all Excuses: I have too much to do. (Read March 7 ^th reflection again!)
Have you carved out prayer time in your daily life to hear God’s voice? It’s never too late to start.
Taking time to be prayerful, sitting in silence, combining fasting from noise with fasting, and giving alms makes time for spiritual growth. Our souls are like gardens, growth takes time and nurturing. God desires a relationship with us; we do this by spending time with Him in prayer to be with Him. Perhaps at this halfway point, we have heard His voice and our hearts have softened. Perhaps we formed a better relationship with God that we want to preserve and improve. The parish has a resource, FORMED on Demand that has a video, “Into the Desert: A Lenten Study on Prayer,” which explains prayer and how to use Lectio Divina in order to have a conversation with God. Watch this video if you can or you can look praying using Lectio Divina by googling it or read the attached description.  Read today’s scripture slowly & prayerfully. Pick one of the following scriptural readings and rest in it in the silence of your heart for a while using Lectio Divina:  Jeremiah 7:23-28, Psalm 95, and Luke 11:14-23. Write in your journal how God spoke to you in these readings. Consider about how you might share your Lenten experience.
 
Lenten Action: If you are a regular practitioner of Contemplative prayer spend your normal time in such prayer. If you are new to spending time in silent prayer, get comfortable and in the silence of your heart ask God to come to you and silence your thoughts. Focus on your breathing & feel the rising and falling of your chest, as you fill your lungs and expel your breath. Bring your contemplation to feeling God’s Presence.
 
Today is not a Fast day, but if you have a mind to abstain from a favorite food or drink, please do so as a means of strengthening your will power. Remember not to watch TV, or use your computer or your phone to access social media, computer games, or other unnecessary apps.