A Lenten Word - Harden Not Your Hearts

Today as we practice mindfulness as we continue our Lenten journey, the phrase that we can keep in mind comes directly from Psalm 95 which functions as our responsorial Psalm for the readings today.

"Harden not your hearts as at Meribah, as in the day of Massah in the desert,
Where your fathers tempted me; they tested me though they had seen my works."

A hardened heart is a heart that will not change. An unwillingness to change means that there is no possibility of conversion of life. However, a hardened heart is not simply about conversion. Change is a fact of life. As we grow older, we are tested by our human limits and by the gradual weakening of our physical body. Such changes are just as difficult to make as the change that is required for true conversion.

Psalm 95 he calls a specific event in the life of the children of Israel. The Hebrew word “Meribah” means “contention.” The Hebrew word “Massah” means “testing” or “tempting.” Having escaped from Israel, Jewish people through thirsty in the midst of the desert. Their thirst caused them to murmur against God, contending that they would have been better off if they had stayed in Egypt. So they tested God’s providential care by demanding water which God provided for them when Moses struck a large rock with his staff. This contention and testing of God’s care is one of the reasons why God left them in the desert for 40 years.

Throughout this day let us remind ourselves to soften our hearts so that we can change as God asks us change, so that we can turn to God when God asks us to turn.