Tuesday, February 24, 2015



Tuesday of the First Week of Lent

(Isaiah55:10-11; Matthew 6:7-15)

When Isaiah speaks of God’s word going forth from His mouth, he is using the term figuratively.  Word is more than a vocal sound with a definite meaning; it is a figure of speech standing for all truth about God.  For this reason Jesus is called the “Word of God.”  When we see Jesus, we see God.  This does not mean that we can know everything about God who will forever remain a mystery.  In a sense, but in an infinitely greater way, as we cannot know everything even about any person even our spouses for fifty years, we will never come to know all about God.

In today’s gospel Jesus reveals what is most important to us about God.  When he urges us to call God “Father,” he is telling us that although God created the universe, He still cares for us individually with the tenderest of loves.  Jesus also reminds us, “like father, like son”: as we expect God to pardon our sins, we should forgive others theirs.

Many of us pray the “Our Father” throughout the day.  We do well to make it our last words as we go to sleep at night and the first words on our lips in the morning.  In this way we will never forget that God is at hand to help us and that we are made to be like Him.