Life is a matter of the heart. If we have accepted a new heart from the Lord (Ez 36:26) and live accordingly by loving Him with all our hearts (see Lk 10:27), our lives on earth will be abundant (see Jn 10:10), free, holy, and fulfilled. Then after our deaths or Jesus' final coming, we will live forever with the Lord in the perfect love of heaven.
If, however, we let our hearts become hardened throughout our lives and stay that way, we will live lives of increasing insensitivity. We will be spiritually blind to the sin in our hearts and the poor in our midst (see Lk 16:20ff). Our hearts can become so hardened that we will not listen to someone raised from the dead (e.g. Jesus Himself) (see Lk 16:31). If we die in this state of hard-heartedness, we will go to a place of everlasting torment (see Lk 16:24) and be separated from God forever by a great chasm (see Lk 16:26).
Because everlasting life and death are matters of the heart, it is of great importance to know our heart condition. On the third, fourth, and fifth Sundays of Lent, the catechumens of the world ask the Lord to scrutinize their hearts. Let us all pray these prayers to make sure we are living the life of the new heart.
| PRAYER: | Father, may I get clear readings of my heart from the prayers called the "Scrutinies." |
| PROMISE: | "Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose Hope is the Lord." –Jer 17:7 |
| PRAISE: | St. Patrick so loved those who had kidnapped and enslaved him, he sought to lead them to the Lord. |
Reprinted with permission from Presentation Ministries, a lay association of the Catholic Church that focuses on evangelization and discipleship through Bible teaching, daily Mass, the charisms of the Holy Spirit, and Small Christian Community. Their ministries include:
· One Bread, One Body
· Daily Bread Radio Program
· Annual Bible Institute
· Discipleship Retreats
· Guadalupe Bible College