Twentieth Thursday in Ordinary Time

I will sprinkle clean water upon you to cleanse you from all your impurities, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. I will give you a new heart and place a new spirit within you, taking from your bodies your stony hearts and giving you natural hearts. I will put my spirit within you and make you live by my statutes, careful to observe my decrees. You shall live in the land I gave your ancestors; you shall be my people, and I will be your God.

Each of us need to be cleanse of our sins from time to time. We have to be purged of our impurities and stripped of our false idols. We often need to approach our lives with a new or renewed spirit of holiness. It is through the sacrament of reconciliation that we can be purified and our hearts of stone softened. The confession of our sins and humble penance also grants us the graces we need to live by God's commandments, teachings, and inspirations. Taking these steps goes a long way toward bringing us closer to the Heavenly Kingdom and life everlasting with our Lord and God.

What sins and imperfections do we need to be cleansed of? How can we be more receptive of the Spirit of God in our lives? Do we make regular and meaningful use of the sacrament of reconciliation?

O Lord, cleanse us from our sins and soften our hearts.

Amen.