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| This column is the bishop’s communication with the faithful of the Diocese of Madison. Any wider circulation reaches beyond the intention of the bishop. |
Dear Friends,
As you can see elsewhere in this issue of the Catholic Herald, I was recently blessed to be with a large number of our young women and men during “Frassati Fest.”
It was a joy to be with so many young people excited about their faith, and who were willing to make the sacrifice to gather. I also have to give my special thanks to Lindsay Becher and all those who worked so hard to put the weekend together.
During the Sunday Mass I celebrated with those great young people, I reflected on the readings of the day, and I’d like to share a bit of my reflections here, adapted slightly for print.
Beautiful message
The Scriptures of the day leave us with a beautiful message which we can take back into our homes and which have, not surprisingly, three points.
The first point was repeated in the Psalm (Ps 95) over and over again: “If today you hear His voice, harden not your heart.”
Now what does that really mean? What does “today” mean? It doesn’t simply mean Sunday, Feb. 1, the Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time. “Today” means our whole time redeemed by Christ in this world, before this world passes away.
“Tomorrow” refers to the great heavenly rest, when this world has passed away. So, the Psalmist is writing, “harden not your hearts,” while it is still today! Today is a long time, but it is not endless; there is a limit to “today,” and so there is an urgency there. “Harden not your hearts while it is still today.”