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TODAY’S WORD…

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Do not harden your hearts…

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– Psalm 95:8 (NRSV)

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REFLECTION…

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“Our Prayer, during Lent, aims at awakening consciences,

at making them sensitive to God’s voice.

‘Do not harden your hearts,’ the Psalmist says.

In fact, the numbing of consciences,

the indifference to good and evil,

the deviations,

are a great threat for society,

because in the last analysis

the level of morality of society depends on the human conscience.” (St. Pope John Paul II)

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Conscience throws light on all of one’s life.

It can be deformed and hardened.

Conscience is the light of the soul,

of what is deepest in man’s being;

and if this light is put out, man is thrown into darkness

and can commit the most dastardly abuses against himself and against others.

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“Your eye is the lamp of your body”, says the Lord. (Lk 11:34)

Conscience is the lamp of the soul,

and if it is well formed it lights up the way,

a way which leads to God,

and man can make progress because of it.

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Although man may weaken and fall,

he can raise himself and continue onward.

But one who has allowed this interior sensitivity ‘to drowse’ or ‘to die’ to the things of God,

is now without signposts…and is lost.

It is one of the great misfortunes in this life which can befall a soul:

What sorrow for those who say
that evil is good and good is evil,
that dark is light and light is dark,
that bitter is sweet and sweet is bitter!

proclaims the prophet Isaiah (Is 5:20)

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Jesus compares the function of conscience in our life to that of an eye.

“When your eyes are healthy, your whole body also is full of light.

But when they are unhealthy your body also is full of darkness.

See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness.”(Lk 11:34-35)

When the eye is healthy,

things are seen as they are, undistorted.

But a sick eye either does not see

or it distorts reality;

it deceives the person

who can come to think that things are in fact as he or she views them.

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When one makes mistakes in ordinary life, having falsely interpreted some facts,

It can lead to problems and difficulties which are, at times, of little importance.

But when the error refers to matters regarding eternal life,

its consequences have no limit.

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QUOTE…

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“The man whose heart is hardened and whose conscience is degenerate,

even if he is in full possession of his strength and physical capabilities,

is sick spiritually,

and everything must be done to restore him to health of soul.”

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– St. Pope John Paul II

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Open the eyes of my heart, Lord, and help me see Your truth.

Soften my heart, Lord, that I may do only Your will.

… … … … … … … … … … … …… …

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Note: The main source of today’s REFLECTION is the seven-volume work

“In Conversation with God” by Padre Francisco Fernández Carvajal.