November 18, 2021 Thursday of the 33rd Week in Ordinary Time-B

1 Maccabees 2:15-29

Psalm 50

Luke 19:41-44

…he saw the city and wept over it… Lk. 19:41

Lord, you shed tears when you looked upon your beloved city of Jerusalem. Many times you came upon this sight but this time you were overwhelmed with sorrow over the grave sin that would be committed there when you were crucified. You wept over those who would not accept you then and now. You weep because people without faith in you have no hope in what is real and what is eternal. Your heart is broken because of our cruelty to one another and our refusal to love as you command. You weep because I would one day choose my ways over your ways. Lord, I can’t remember the last time I shed real tears of anguish like you. Tears can be tools of healing. Tears release emotions that can be bottled up within us.  Lord, give me a sincere sorrow over my sins and the sins of my brothers and sisters. Connect my weeping with yours. Don’t let me be like the people of Jerusalem who couldn’t recognize the “time of their visitation.” Bring home those of my family and friends who have rejected you. Bring back to the fold the lost sheep.  Amen.