Thursday of the Fourth Week of Lent

Readings of the Day

How many times has a client come into your office unprepared for their appointment? Maybe they didn't bring the documents that you requested or follow-through on the goals you had set at your previous meeting. Does it ever seem that rather than moving forward with them, you're moving backward? In those moments it's easy to feel that you have been betrayed and that your time and effort with that client has been for nothing.

I can identify with God's anger in today's first reading. After all that he has been through with the Israelites, after all that we have been through with some of our clients, they have returned to their old ways. In today's Gospel, Jesus confronts the Jews because, though they know the scriptures and the prophesies, they do not accept the Savior in their midst. They fail to take advantage of the gift, of the tremendous opportunity that is given to them for their own well-being.

But how often are we like the Israelites or the Jews? How often do we return to our old ways, repeatedly engaging in the same bad habits, confessing the same sins in the confessional month after month, even year after year? How often do we turn our back on Jesus, failing to recognize Him in our spouses, our colleagues and our clients? Yet He never turns His back on us, but responds with love and mercy. So too should we show love and mercy to all whom we encounter, especially those who challenge us the most.

Allison Cavazos is Associate Director of Parish Relations for Catholic Charities of Central Texas and a member of the CCUSA Parish Social Ministry Leadership Team.

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