Thursday of the Second Week of Lent - March 9, 2023

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“More tortuous than all else is the human heart. Who but our Lord can understand it?
Blessed is the man whose hope is in the Lord...”

In this reading, Jeremiah provides witness to the reality, difficulty and often misguidedness of the human experience. 

At the medical clinic for Madre in El Salvador, our wonderful pastoral liaison, Karen Miller, gathered the team in prayer. She affirmed and encouraged us, urging the team to seek the face of God in those we
encountered.
 
The weather had been hot and humid, the clinic schedule was packed with patients in need and the social and economic challenges were striking. I arrived ready to apply my career experience as a nurse practitioner. I was eager to get busy fixing problems and to utilize my privilege to the service of those in need. After all, isn’t that the expression of “faith in action” that we are called to? God had a lesson awaiting me.

My last patient of the day was an elderly woman who was burdened with responsibility. There wasn’t a pill, treatment or resource to offer her. My eyes welled with tears of empathy and frustration. I  embraced her, praising her for her strength. She smiled and cheerfully blessed us for all we had done for
her just by being there. I was humbled. She simply needed to be heard.

God had used the circumstances to work in our midst with a vision beyond my own. I realized that our first need and our first call is to loving solidarity in community through the Holy Spirit. In this season of Lent let us make room for God to fill our hearts with what we really need.

Q: Who do I know that is suffering right now? Set a time today to call them and simply listen lovingly as they unload their burdens.

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