“THE CONVERSION OF THE HEART”

Beloved Father, the outcome of the story of Joseph and his brothers shows how You know how to use even the evil that people think and do to carry out Your plan of love. This demonstrates Your omnipotence and gives us hope when we witness so much injustice in the world. Who, if not You, could turn evil into good? Only You!

Thus, we can live and cling to You in the midst of the evil that spreads around us. That does not mean that we have to stop calling “evil” “evil,” but we take away its claim to omnipotence and do not give up. In the end, it will not be evil or the Evil One who triumphs, but the power of Your love. That is certain!

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Day 17: “The Depths of the Heart”  

Today’s readings confront us very concretely with the depths of the human heart and with the evil deeds that spring from it. First, we hear part of the story of Joseph and his brothers (Genesis 37:6–22). Joseph’s brothers realized that their father, Jacob, loved Joseph the most. Joseph was the one who told their father about the evil things they did while grazing the sheep and goats. Therefore, “they hated him and could not speak peaceably to him” (v. 4).

Their hearts grew darker and darker, and when Joseph innocently shared with them two prophetic dreams indicating that one day they would bow down before him, this increased their jealousy even more. When a favorable opportunity presented itself, they decided to kill him. Only one of the brothers, Reuben, wanted to save him from their hands and bring him back to their father. He persuaded them to throw him into a cistern in the wilderness and not to shed his blood (cf. v. 22).

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