Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Jeremiah: model of honest prayer and sure hope: Daily Mass Homily--Wednesday, July 30th, 2014


            Jeremiah has the nickname the weeping prophet.  This man was unique in that he prophesied to God’s people prior to, during and after the most devastating event in their history—the Babylonian exile.
Jeremiah wears his heart on a sleeve and expresses to God exactly what he is thinking.  Today is a great example: “Woe to me, mother, that you gave me birth!  A man of strife and contention to all the land!”  Sometimes our prayer consists of telling God what we think He wants us to say.  Yet true prayer is honest prayer—God already knows what you are thinking, feeling and going through any way so tell Him.
Jeremiah also couples his honest struggles with faith and hope in God’s promises to His people.  Today he cites the Word of God as one of his sources of hope: “When I found your words, I devoured them; they became my joy and the happiness of my heart…”
Like Jeremiah, may we grow in our prayer lives to give to God all that we experience, both the good and the bad.  In times of difficulty, may our hope be founded on God’s love and fidelity, especially in His holy scriptures.

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