The readings this week speak to me about listening to God and doing what He says. Sounds simple; is not.

The reading from Jeremiah tells us that the Lord says, "I will place my law within them and write it upon their hearts; I will be their God and they shall be my people." Following God's law in our hearts is an expected outcome of His putting it there or at least that seems a reasonable expectation to me.

Decision-making to do the "right thing" is a difficult process to learn, however. We know that by our own attempts and failures. Anyone who is a parent of youngsters, teenagers, or young adults can testify to how doubly frustrating it can be to learn that skill since part of parenting is teaching your children how to do this as well as actually doing it yourself. Are we doomed to failure? Sometimes it does seem so. The Lord tells us that we are His people, however, so there is great hope, always hope!

The Lord tells us that "All, from least to greatest, shall know me... for I will forgive their evildoing and remember their sin no more." For me, that means that God knows a way that we can "do the right thing" and follow this law in our hearts. Obviously, for those of us who do not succeed at knowing what this way is every time, without a shadow of a doubt, and do it with 100% success, well, it has to be something that God initiates, directs, and sees through to its conclusion. It is!

I think that it involves this listening to God so that we can hear our heart speak to us, the same heart that contains this law of God written upon it. A wonderful image comes to my mind here, one of God's law being etched into my heart rather than written on its surface. Maybe I need that, that knowing that all my busyness and forgetfulness and sinfulness will not be able to "erase" it by my own carelessly not paying attention to it.

The Gospel also gives me another image, another scaffold to help me attain this goal of listening and following God's law as it is written in my heart. It is the image of a grain of wheat. I can hear the words of the song as I read these words and let them soak into my somewhat parched heart. I have to surrender to God and the only way that I can do that is to listen to HIm in the quiet of my heart. Once I find the quiet to listen, I can re-give Him my life, daily or many times during the day , if necessary. That way I can serve Him and follow Him. Sounds simple; is not.

The blueprint is there, however, etched by God's own hand, into my heart. It is the fifth Sunday of Lent . It is time to let God's own words and the example of His Son, Jesus, rule this heart of mine. The Gospel continues in its message and tells us that Jesus was troubled, too. God spoke to Him for the benefit of the people. Jesus, our Example, showed us, each one of us, how to listen to Our Father and do His will. It is our turn to listen and let ourselves be drawn to Jesus.

(Comments to Lanie at lanieleblanc@mindspring.com.)