brokenness

¹⁹The Lord is near to those who are troubled in heart, and he will save the humble in spirit.

¹⁹A crushed spirit is a sacrifice to God. A contrite and humbled heart, O God, you will not spurn.

³He heals the contrite of heart, and he binds up their sorrows.

⁵Have confidence in the Lord with all your heart, and do not depend upon your own prudence. ⁶In all your ways, consider him, and he himself will direct your steps.

¹⁵For this is said by the Most High, the Sublime One, who dwells in eternity. And his name is Holy, for he dwells in the exalted and holy place, and he acts with a restrained and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite.

²⁴Amen, amen, I say to you, unless the grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies,

¹³I have become forgotten, like one dead to the heart. I have become like a damaged utensil.

⁸For we do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, about our tribulation, which happened to us in Asia. For we were weighed down beyond measure, beyond our strength, so that we became weary, even of life itself. ⁹But we had within ourselves the response to death, so that we would not have faith in ourselves, but in God, who raises the dead. ¹⁰He has rescued us, and he is rescuing us, from great peril. In him, we hope that he will continue to rescue us.

²and opening his mouth, he taught them, saying: ³“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. ⁴Blessed are the meek, for they shall possess the earth. ⁵Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be consoled. ⁶Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they shall be satisfied. ⁷Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.

⁶But he gives a greater grace. Therefore he says: “God resists the arrogant, but he gives grace to the humble.”

²My hand has made all these things, and all these things have been made, says the Lord. But upon whom will I look with favor, except upon a poor little one, who is contrite in spirit, and who trembles at my words?

²⁰I live; yet now, it is not I, but truly Christ, who lives in me. And though I live now in the flesh, I live in the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and who delivered himself for me.

¹The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying: ²“Rise up and descend into the house of the potter, and there you will hear my words.” ³And I descended into the house of the potter, and behold, he was making a work on the wheel. ⁴And the vessel, which he was making with his hands out of clay, broke. And turning away, he made another vessel, for it had been pleasing in his eyes to make it. ⁵Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying: ⁶“Am I not able to do with you, O house of Israel, just as this potter has done, says the Lord? Behold, like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel.

¹⁶Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be saved. For the unremitting prayer of a just person prevails over many things.

¹Thus says the Lord: Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. What is this house that you would build for me? And what is this place of my rest? ²My hand has made all these things, and all these things have been made, says the Lord. But upon whom will I look with favor, except upon a poor little one, who is contrite in spirit, and who trembles at my words?