A Contrite and Humbled Heart

First Reading: Jonah 3:1-10

The word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time:
“Set out for the great city of Nineveh,
and announce to it the message that I will tell you.”
So Jonah made ready and went to Nineveh,
according to the LORD’s bidding.
Now Nineveh was an enormously large city;
it took three days to go through it.
Jonah began his journey through the city,
and had gone but a single day’s walk announcing,
“Forty days more and Nineveh shall be destroyed,”
when the people of Nineveh believed God;
they proclaimed a fast
and all of them, great and small, put on sackcloth.

When the news reached the king of Nineveh,
he rose from his throne, laid aside his robe,
covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in the ashes.
Then he had this proclaimed throughout Nineveh,
by decree of the king and his nobles:
“Neither man nor beast, neither cattle nor sheep,
shall taste anything;
they shall not eat, nor shall they drink water.
Man and beast shall be covered with sackcloth and call loudly to God;
every man shall turn from his evil way
and from the violence he has in hand.
Who knows, God may relent and forgive, and withhold his blazing wrath,
so that we shall not perish.”
When God saw by their actions how they turned from their evil way,
he repented of the evil that he had threatened to do to them;
he did not carry it out.

Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 51:3-4, 12-13, 18-19

R. (19b) A heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.
Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness;
in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense.
Thoroughly wash me from my guilt
and of my sin cleanse me.
R. A heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.
A clean heart create for me, O God,
and a steadfast spirit renew within me.
Cast me not out from your presence,
and your Holy Spirit take not from me.
R. A heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.
For you are not pleased with sacrifices;
should I offer a burnt offering, you would not accept it.
My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit;
a heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.
R. A heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.

Gospel: Luke 11:29-32

While still more people gathered in the crowd, Jesus said to them,
“This generation is an evil generation;
it seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it,
except the sign of Jonah.
Just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites,
so will the Son of Man be to this generation.
At the judgment
the queen of the south will rise with the men of this generation
and she will condemn them,
because she came from the ends of the earth
to hear the wisdom of Solomon,
and there is something greater than Solomon here.
At the judgment the men of Nineveh will arise with this generation
and condemn it,
because at the preaching of Jonah they repented,
and there is something greater than Jonah here.”

NAB

Well, ladies, we are in it . . . Lent. I am solemnly happy about it. It presents the opportunity for leaps and bounds of spiritual growth! It also gives me time to pause, take my faith seriously, and to go deeper. It's a thoughtful, reflective, and remorseful time. We are called to take a good and honest look inside, and see if God truly resides there and how much real estate we give Him. In that light, today's Responsorial Psalm really hit home for me,

My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit; a heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.

Do I really, really have a deep awareness of how much I NEED God? Do I know how much I really NEED His mercy? Do I know how much I NEED His grace? I rely on Him daily, but remain unaware of this reliance. My heart is full of me and there is no room for the one thing I rely on most: Jesus.

This might not be everyone's struggle, but pride is my ultimate struggle, my cross and the source of much of my sin. In my pride of thinking I have it all together, I don't consider the role of God's grace and how He can move my heart.

Having a contrite heart that is humbled before God puts everything in proper order and place. If I can master the discipline of having a contrite and humbled heart to the One Who gave me my heart, then everything would not be so haphazard, rather it would make sense and be rightly ordered. Therefore my prayer this Lent also hails from this same Psalm,

A clean heart create for me, O God,
and a steadfast spirit renew within me.
Cast me not out from your presence,
and your Holy Spirit take not from me.

Do I really, really have a deep awareness of how much I NEED God?Click to tweet

Lord, renew the spirit within me, I want to be steadfast, unwavering, and true to you. I want my heart to be clean, contrite, humbled, and once again entirely Yours.

photo credit

Cassie Kent is a wife, mom to two kiddos, loves to get a little crafty and celebrate the gift of creativity. You can find out more about her here.