A Moment To Pause: Lent - Thursday 12th March 2026

Good morning and thank you for joining the Oblate Family Podcast: A Moment To Pause, for today's time of reflection and prayer during Lent. We listen to Anne Walker from Friends of Saint Eugene in Crewe for today's short 90 second podcast. Good morning, everyone, and welcome to today's Oblate reflection on this, the Thursday of the third week of Lent. In today's Gospel, which is from Saint Luke chapter 11, verses 14 to 23, Jesus casts out a demon of a mute man, which prompted from his critics that he had demonic power. Jesus replied to this by saying that a divided kingdom falls and explains that his power comes from God, providing evidence to his critics the Kingdom of God has arrived. He calls for complete allegiance by saying, “Whoever is not with me is against me.” Jesus explains that Satan would not destroy his own kingdom by casting out his own demons. Therefore, we see that there is no middle ground in spiritual warfare. One is either with Jesus gathering souls or against him scattering souls. Finally, reflecting on today's Gospel, we should be aware of the warning Jesus gives us that we should be against hardening our hearts and be in full communion with Jesus. Thank you for listening to me and have a blessed day.