12TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

The king made a covenant before the Lord that they would follow him . . . with their whole hearts and souls. 

King Josiah’s father and grandfather had set up altars to pagan gods throughout the nation of Judah and even practiced child sacrifice. They shed “so much innocent blood that it filled the length and breadth of Jerusalem” (2 Kings 21:16). So when twenty-six-year-old Josiah first learned about God’s laws and his covenant with them, he must have been stunned. His eyes were opened to a whole new reality! This God had chosen the people of Josiah’s kingdom and promised to bless them—not in return for any sacrifice, but simply because he loved them.

Today’s first reading shows us how Josiah responded to this news: he “tore his garments” as a public sign of remorse and repentance (2 Kings 22:11). He then removed all the pagan shrines and practices around the entire nation and reestablished the worship and observances handed down by Moses.

King Josiah’s sincere and wholehearted response calls to mind the words of St. Paul to the Romans: “The kindness of God” can “lead you to repentance” (2:4). When he learned of the kindness, faithfulness, and generosity of God, Josiah was cut to the heart and changed the course of his life—and the course of the nation he led.

God’s kindness can lead you to a similar response. Can you recall any moments in your life when his love was especially tangible to you? Perhaps someone you had hurt offered you undeserved mercy. Or perhaps God’s provision came at just the right time. Maybe you experienced his goodness in the words of a priest during the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

As you reflect on these times, let God’s kindness move you to repent of any ways you may have strayed from obeying his commands or forgotten his goodness to you. Then rededicate your life to the Lord. May his goodness fill your heart with love for him and his people and give you an ever-greater desire to follow him wherever he may lead you!

“I praise you, Lord, for all the goodness you have shown to me!”

2 Kings 22:8-13; 23:1-3
Psalm 119:33-37, 40
Matthew 7:15-20