Gaudete et Exsultate! Rejoice and Be Glad!
“Blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD,” is the easiest way to summarize the first half of Sunday’s readings (Jer 17:7). However, it leaves us wondering, “why?” Why should we trust in the Lord? Why should all of our hope rest in Him? Thankfully, the Gospel Acclamation tells us why! “Rejoice and be glad; your reward will be great in heaven!” (Lk 6:23). If we trust fully in the Lord, we will be rewarded immensely in heaven. In the reading from the Prophet Jeremiah, the differences between the one who trusts in himself and the one who trusts in God is clearly laid out. We hear that the man who trust in himself, in the world, is closed off from God. His “… heart turns away from the Lord,” and he is focused not on God but on himself (Jer 17:5). ...