A Penitent Blogger

Mindful of my imperfections, seeking to know Truth more deeply and to live Love more fully.

Quid sum miser tunc dicturus? Quem patronum rogaturus? Cum vix iustus sit securus?
Recordare, Iesu pie, Quod sum causa tuae viae: Ne me perdas illa die...

Sunday, February 14, 2010

On this day

Today, many people are celebrating Valentine’s Day.

For some, it is a day to celebrate true love: a love that is shared and blessed in God.

For others, it is a day of lower quality pursuits.

For all of us, the words of today’s first reading (Jeremiah 17:5-8) – chosen not for February 14 but for the Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time – are of deadly importance.

Thus says the LORD:
Cursed is the one who trusts in human beings,
who seeks his strength in flesh,
whose heart turns away from the LORD.


On Valentine’s Day and on other days, too many people are putting too much trust in human relationships (current or hoped for).

Too many people are seeking happiness in flesh.

Too many people are turning their hearts to all sorts of things in this world.

Sooner or later, sometimes bitterly, we learn how shallow, fleeting, and empty all of these things are.

He is like a barren bush in the desert
that enjoys no change of season,
but stands in a lava waste,
a salt and empty earth.


God is the infallible source of strength, of happiness, and of love: strength, happiness, and love that last forever.

Blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD,
whose hope is the LORD.
He is like a tree planted beside the waters
that stretches out its roots to the stream:
it fears not the heat when it comes;
its leaves stay green;
in the year of drought it shows no distress,
but still bears fruit.


May we seek God above all things, above all relationships, and above all loves.