The word prophet in Hebrew literally means “mouth”. While the prophets lived in different stages of Israel’s history, each was sent by God, to be his mouthpiece, to deliver messages Israel needs to hear. And most of the time those messages had to do with sin, either calling God’s people back to faithfulness when they had sinned, announcing the devastating consequences of sin, or announcing how God was about to deliver his people from sin.
And you’d think that when it was clear that a prophet had been sent, the multitudes would open their hearts to the message from heaven, knowing that, God who is God was sending them a message they needed to hear.
But Scripture records that the common reaction to the prophets wasn’t to embrace them, but to reject them. The vast multitudes reject the prophets, they reject God’s word. And they don’t just turn a deaf ear to the prophets, they seek to silence God’s mouthpieces, through violent means.
In the first reading today, the people of Jerusalem plot to kill Jeremiah: “Come, let us contrive a plot against Jeremiah…let us destroy him by his own tongue; let us carefully note his every word.”
The church fathers see the rejection of the prophets as a foreshadowing of the hostility that would be shown to Jesus, who faced plots, mockery, and calumny, by his own people. At the trumped up trial before the Sanhedrin, they would misconstrue his words, his message, to justify putting him to death—they accuse the Word of God—the fulfillment of the prophets—as speaking blasphemy.
The Church continues to experience hostility from the masses, from the world, when she fulfills her prophetic role. The call to conversion from sin is labeled as judgmental, when it is really an act of mercy. We love souls, we want them to be with God forever in eternity, and so we preach Christ.
But, as much as we are meant to sympathize with Jeremiah and the holy prophets, throughout Lent, we are certainly to consider the ways that we, personally, have resisted God’s Word—how we have dismissed the call to conversion, the call to holiness. We have been called to change, to be less selfish, to strive for purity, to humble our pride, to bridle our tongues, and in many instances have resisted the exertion of the extra effort.
So, during Lent we do penance through fasting, prayer, and almsgiving for the times we rejected truth, and scorned goodness, and were given to ugly words and uglier behavior, for the times when we have run away from the cross. And we plead, Lord have mercy.
This evening we will have confessions from 5 to 8 in every parish church in the diocese. Invite a fallen-away Catholic back to the Sacraments today. Pray for conversion for all, for the ability to respond humbly and generously to the prophetic call to repent, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.
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That the Christians will experience the graces of profound renewal during this season of Lent.
That this evening’s diocesan wide celebration of the Sacrament of Reconciliation will bring about a return of many hearts to communion with God.
That all families will recommit themselves to fervent prayer this Lent so as to grow in greater love and holiness.
That this Lent we will be faithful to fasting and to all the ways that the Lord sanctifies us.
For generous giving for the needs of the poor, the hungry, the homeless, those who are sick, those with serious illness, for the unemployed, victims of natural disaster, terrorism, war, violence, and human trafficking, and for those most in need.
For our beloved dead and all the poor souls in purgatory.
Mercifully hear, O Lord, the prayers of your Church and turn with compassion to the hearts that bow before you, that those you make sharers in your divine mystery may always benefit from your assistance.
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