2021 Lenten Meditations – Friday, February 26th
Joel 2:13
Rip open your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord, your God, for he is gracious and compassionate.
It was an ancient custom that the person who was ashamed of his sin and wanted to show he had repented would tear his clothes as an outward sign of penance. Over time that act became a ritual, an external, superficial act that did not include a true and deep repentance. When we sin we separate from God and in that separation we leave ourselves open to more sin and evil.
The prophet Joel expresses what God expects: something real and internal that, if externally reflected, is authentic. So when we repent in our hearts; sincerely and truly, we are reunited with God the Father. It is then that we return to the Lord who sees that what we have done is true and he then shows us kindness and compassion and not punishment.
In the work we do at Our Little Roses Ministries, we seek to foster authentic changes in our girls and young people – transformation from the inside out. We seek to guide them in their process to discover the goodness and compassion of God through love. We work to teach each girl that what is external is fleeting – that change must happen in our hearts and souls. Our mission is to help them to achieve in their hearts true improvement and reconnection, to understand deeply that they are beloved daughters of God and that is what they have been created for, and what God expects of them.
This is the work God wants for – and expects of us all; that our support, affection, and prayer are authentic and permanent – not fleeting and done out of habit.
As you begin this Lent, may the Lord’s grace guide you to tear open your heart – renewing yourself in God’s love.
Reverend Galeano
Chaplain Nuestras Pequeñas Rosas
San Pedro Sula, Honduras
Spanish Translation
Joel 2:13
Rásguense el corazón y no las vestiduras. Vuélvanse al Señor su Dios, porque él es bondadoso y compasivo.
Era una costumbre antigua que la persona que sentía vergüenza por su pecado y mostraba arrepentimiento rompía su ropa en señal de penitencia. Pero con el tiempo ese acto fue quedando como un acto ritual, externo, superficial.
El profeta Joel dice lo que Dios espera: algo real, interno y si se refleja externamente mucho mejor. Así al hacerlo sincera y realmente Dios Padre ve que lo que se hace se verdadero y él entonces cambia de vernos con justicia y muestra en su lugar bondad y compasión.
En la labor que realizamos en los Ministerios Nuestras Pequeñas Rosas, buscamos siempre que los cambios en nuestras niñas y jóvenes sean de adentro hacia afuera. Buscamos que ellas en todo su proceso puedan descubrir la bondad y la compasión de Dios por medio del amor. Queremos que aprendan a no hacer nada superficial o que sea solo externo, queremos logren en su corazón cambiar, mejorar, evolucionar hasta ser las personas e hijas que Dios espera de ella. Y la labor de todos es que nuestro apoyo, cariño y oración sean permanentes. Al iniciar esta Cuaresma rasga tu corazón renovarte en Dios.