Scripture for Your Inner Outcasts

Transcript

"Come, let us return to the LORD, it is he who has rent, but he will heal us; he has struck us, but he will bind our wounds. He will revive us after two days; on the third day he will raise us up, to live in his presence. Let us know, let us strive to know the LORD; as certain as the dawn is his coming, and his judgment shines forth like the light of day! He will come to us like the rain, like spring rain that waters the earth."

You are listening to Scripture for Your Inner Outcasts. Today is March 14th, 2026, Saturday of the Third Week of Lent. Today we are joined by Bob Benson, a husband and father from new Jersey and a member of Souls and Hearts' Resilient Catholics Community.

Today's first reading comes from Hosea 6. And as I sat with this reading with my parts, verses one through three stuck out to me. "Come, let us return to the LORD, it is he who has rent, but he will heal us; he has struck us, but he will bind our wounds. He will revive us after two days; on the third day he will raise us up, to live in his presence. Let us know, let us strive to know the LORD; as certain as the dawn is his coming, and his judgment shines forth like the light of day! He will come to us like the rain, like spring rain that waters the earth." And as I sat with this, what first came up for me was an angry part, a part that feels very dejected and rejected by others. And this part immediately came to the front saying, "No one cares about me, especially God." Because when the writer of Hosea says to return to the Lord, this part says, no way. And so as I connected with that part inside and came to realize that there's a lot of pain there, and this part is attributing the pain in the past of others to God, saying that God won't be there to help. God won't be there to raise up, to mend, to heal. I was very encouraged in my inmost self though, by one of the verses towards the end there. "He will come to us like the rain, like spring rain that waters the earth." And so deep in my heart I thought of past memories of God's mercy and the rain, signifying new life and new growth where there had been death and dryness. Which to this part of me that feels dejected and hurt, it's slowly loosening and softening back from an intense, angry position into one that can at least accept the fact that God's mercy and love is real, and that he is here for me. What once felt as darkness and death feels a little bit more open and receptive to a love that can change my heart.

For further exploration of the parts of you that carry anger, check out our sister podcast, Interior Integration for Catholics episodes 103 to 113.

Let's end with our invocations. Our Lady, our Mother, Untier of Knots, pray for us. Saint Joseph, pray for us. Saint John the Baptist, pray for us.