Straight are the paths of the Lord, in them the just walk, but sinners stumble in them.
The first verse and the chorus of the song “Hosea” by the Monks of Weston Priory. is as follows;
(1)”Come back to me with all you heart. Don’t let fear keep us apart.” Lent is the time of penance but also repentance. There should be a sigh of relief.
Why do Catholics fear the confessional?
No, not everyone. However, I can tell why I on the other hand, yearn for it. Where else on this earth can you hear a sincere voice with authority absolve you of all your sins. In a place that is private, only you, the Priest and God. Recently, there is a commercial on TV that has a man coming out of the confessional and he opens the door to where the priest is sitting in the confessional and says to the priest. ” I am sorry you had to hear that” . It is a funny ad and I do not even know what it tried to sell.
It seems that nothing we do today hasn’t been done by someone else in the past. Hosea says in our readings today, I will heal their defection says the Lord, I will love them freely; for my wrath is turned away from them. We have nothing to fear from repentance. In fact, just the opposite.
(2) “Trees do bend, though straight and tall; so must we to others’ call”. Jesus in our Gospel affirms that there only two commandments , You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Last Sunday’s first reading ( Exodus 20) reminded us of the 10 commandments and today we are reminded of our neighbor as being just as loved by God as we are, but where we may not agree with them we have to listen. We can’t be satisfied just with repentance. We have to listen to our fellow man. A person begging on the street my be in need or scamming us. I have a friend at Church who keeps gift cards to a local store which does not sell alcohol. He keeps several in his wallet and when approached he gives out the card.
(3) The last part of the song is the Chorus, ” “Long have I waited for your coming home to me and living deeply our new life.” In our Gospel Jesus says, And when Jesus saw that he answered with understanding, he said to him, You are not far from the Kingdom of God. Jesus understands us. God not only understands us He yearns for our companionship. He wants a new life with Him at the center.
We could quote much more from today’s readings but it seems that this is the message of the Song Hosea and both readings. When we sing the song Hosea think about how God is yearning for us to return to Him and in the process not to forget the needs of our neighbors.
I try to make these reflections short but today, I will break my rule by ending with a Prayer from Father Thomas Merton it seems appropriate for today:
“My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road, though I may know nothing about it. Therefore will I trust you always, though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.” Amen!
God Love you always
Bob Burford
