Jeremiah 7: 23-28
Thus says the Lord:
“But this command I gave them, “Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people; and walk only in the way that I command you, so that it may be well with you.” Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but, in the stubbornness of their evil will, they walked in their own counsels, and looked backward rather than forward. From the day that your ancestors came out of the land of Egypt until this day, I have persistently sent all my servants the prophets to them, day after day; yet they did not listen to me, or pay attention, but they stiffened their necks. They did worse than their ancestors did.
“So you shall speak all these words to them, but they will not listen to you. You shall call to them, but they will not answer you. You shall say to them: This is the nation that did not obey the voice of the Lord their God, and did not accept discipline; truth has perished; it is cut off from their lips.”
New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved.
Recognizing the Call
In today’s reading, the prophet Jeremiah delivers a difficult message. God has been speaking to the people again and again, yet they refuse to listen. Instead of walking in God’s ways, they follow their own plans and desires.
Jeremiah’s words raise a question that echoes through every generation: Are we listening to God’s voice?
On March 12, 1622, the Church canonized Ignatius of Loyola and Francis Xavier alongside Teresa of Ávila, Philip Neri, and Isidore the Farmer. Their lives remind us that holiness often begins with a simple but difficult step: listening.
Ignatius once chased honor and reputation. Francis Xavier pursued academic success and prestige. Yet through prayer and discernment, both began to recognize how God was moving in their lives. When they listened, everything changed.
Ignatian spirituality invites us to practice this same attentiveness. Through prayer and the Examen, we learn to notice how God is already speaking and guiding us.
God continues to call.
If God were asking you to change direction today, would you recognize the call?
—Br. Bobby Nichols, SJ, is a Jesuit of the Midwest Province serving as a Campus Minister at Loyola University Chicago.
Prayer
God,
you speak to us through all creation.
In the gentle breeze, the splash of water, and the pounding pavement,
your quiet voice calls to us.
In shared laughter, knowing glances, and gentle touches,
we recognize your presence in one another.
Grant us, we pray, the wisdom to listen to your guidance
and the courage to follow where you lead.
Through the intercession of Ignatius and Francis Xavier,
inspire in our hearts the freedom to change direction
and respond generously to your call.
Amen.
—Br. Bobby Nichols, SJ