Broken Heart: Homily for Tuesday, July 28, 2026

Broken heart. In our lives too we probably have such moments. When we have been faithful to the Word of God, we have sought to live in a way that he wishes us to live, but things don’t always turn out so well. And that’s a time where it’s really hard to be faithful. That’s a time where we might say we don’t understand what it is that God is doing or how it is that God is acting. But we need to remember the lesson of the prophet Jeremiah that when such times arise we too must turn to the Lord. Readings for Today.

Broken Heart

I think one of the challenges for parents is when they work so hard to raise their children in the faith, but the children don’t embrace it. Something that is so precious isn’t really accepted as a gift. And rarely is it, can we say that it’s the fault of the parents in some way, but rather the choice of the adult child.

It can be difficult when we have a situation or a circumstance where someone is really making bad and destructive choices. Maybe someone who’s addicted to alcohol or drugs. We can get frustrated and we can feel surrounded by sadness.

And there are other instances as well where despite our best efforts, people suffer because of their choices. Such was the case for the Prophet Jeremiah. Time and again, Jeremiah told the people what God had said to them. Time and again, he delivered the very way of life that God wanted them to embrace. But they did not do it.

And so today we get a very typical Jeremiah passage. Jeremiah was a very emotional man. And Jeremiah is very saddened by what he knows will happen to the people who have rejected God. Because there’s going to be great destruction. We know historically there’s going to be an exile. The people of Judah are going to be sent to Babylon. Jeremiah himself is going to be sent to Egypt with those who are really on the margins. People who could not have made the long trip to Babylon.

And Jeremiah looks around and all he sees is this destruction. People slain by the sword, those consumed by hunger. But he does what’s really important for each one of us to do when we think in our own lives about how we should face great difficulty. Jeremiah turns to the Lord. The same Jeremiah who at other points in his prophecy tries not to prophesy in the name of the Lord. The same Jeremiah who himself experiences great suffering.

But he turns to the Lord. He prays for the very people who have rejected God’s Word. He tries to describe for them what it means to believe. What it means to hold the Lord close to one’s heart and to recognize that presence of God.

In our lives too we probably have such moments. When we have been faithful to the Word of God, we have sought to live in a way that he wishes us to live, but things don’t always turn out so well. And that’s a time where it’s really hard to be faithful. That’s a time where we might say we don’t understand what it is that God is doing or how it is that God is acting. But we need to remember the lesson of the prophet Jeremiah that when such times arise we too must turn to the Lord.

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