"O that today you would listen to His voice! Harden not your hearts." This exhortation is echoed daily in the Liturgy of the Hours. We ought to take this exhortation seriously as we meander through the activities of our daily life. We want to have a docile and courageous spirit to respond to the Lord's promptings.

Prophet Jeremiah details the Lord's frustration of his unfaithful people. It applies to us today. We ought to listen to His voice and be nubile in our response. But often, we do not listen but follow our own ways - crowding the Lord out of our lives with our many seemingly important concerns and busyness.

What causes our hearts to be hardened? Whatever the causes are it begins with ingratitude. Ingratitude will gradually invite other "demons" in. The pattern is familiar - apathy, entitlement, self-attribution, control, acedia, blaming, resentment, infidelity, unrighteous thoughts. We grow cold and hard ultimately as these little "demons" take a foothold in our spiritual life. We are then easily estranged. Only through the power of the Lord can these "demons" be exorcised. The kingdom of God is seen with signs of conversion. Let not our hearts harden and grow stubborn. Instead, let us recover our deep sense of gratitude to God, Who, like a hen, gathers her brood under her wings (Mt 23:37).