Friday, February 27, 2026

 Friday of the First Week of Lent

(Ezekiel 18:21-28; Matthew 5:20-26)

Children have difficulty comprehending the message in today’s reading from the prophet Ezekiel.  They see not forgiving the offense of someone who has always lived virtuously as unfair.  Before one agrees with them, she should realize that children are, by definition, young.  They don’t have a treasury of memories for which continual thankfulness to God is due.  God will reject the sinner, even if he has priorly lived an exemplary life, for not having expressed gratitude with increasing virtue.

Childishness is also behind the rebellion that causes a person to call a brother or sister “fool.”  Children often act out when they do not get their way because they have not yet learned how to control their emotions.  They think that they have a right to express what they feel inside.  Maturing, especially under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, should temper their rebellious ways.

The season of Lent aids the maturing process.  It is a time of intense reflection on our actions and our lives.  We are to recall God’s beneficence and to respond with gratitude. We are also to review our relationships and to reconcile ourselves with anyone we have mistreated.

Thursday, February 26, 2026

 

Thursday of the First Week of Lent

(Esther C,12.14-16.23-25; Matthew 7:7-12)

One major quality of the Christian life is dependency.  Because this word is so associated with addiction, perhaps it is better to speak of reliance.  Although many find it hard to admit, Christians rely on one another and primarily on God for assistance.  They realize that they have been saved from death by the Cross and Resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Without him they are doomed to sin egregiously and to die forever.

Although Queen Esther In today’s first reading is not Christian and has lived apart from her Jewish community, she finds herself desperately needing God’s help.  She cannot depend on her extraordinary beauty or her rank as queen to deliver her and her people from death.  She does what Jesus recommends in the gospel.  She asks the God of her fathers for assistance.  Of course, she receives it.  God, loving her and her people, will not allow them to perish.

Why then do we often find prayers of petition difficult to make?  Perhaps we recognize personal sin that makes us think we are unworthy.  Or maybe the independent spirit of our society prompts us to keep searching for personal resources to meet challenges.  We might even doubt that God exists or that He cares about us.  These reasons and, no doubt, others may be summed up in pride.  In the end, it is our thinking too much of ourselves that gets in the way of asking God for help.  We need to humble ourselves and look to God and perhaps brothers and sisters in Christ for help.

Wednesday, February 25, 2026

 

Wednesday of the First Week of Lent

(Jonah 3:1-10; Luke 3:29-32)

We are all sinners – one out of every one of us.  We think too much of ourselves and too little of others.  Have you ever said something derogatory and only half-true about another person just to produce a laugh?  I have.  It is one source of my sinfulness.

During this season of Lent we make a collective effort to examine our lives, locate the sources of our sinfulness and decide to root them out.  With this effort we hope to become more like Jesus.  He is the best model for lives which please God and bless others.

Both readings today convey this message.  The Book of the Prophet Jonah is neither oracle nor history, but a story intended to catalyze repentance.  In the gospel Jesus uses that story to remind his generation and ours of the necessity of reform.

Tuesday, February 24, 2026

 Tuesday of the First Week of Lent

(Isaiah 55:10-11; Matthew 67-15)

Katabasis is a Greek word meaning going down or descent.  Christian theology has employed the term in reference to Jesus’ coming from heaven to save humanity.  This use reflects Isaiah’s prophecy in today’s first reading.  God’s word, which in its most prescient form is the Son, descends from heaven to earth to effect the divine will.

Today’s gospel suggests a mirror image of heavenly katabasis.  Human words in the form of prayer go up (anabasis in Greek) to God who provides what the person needs.  Jesus tells us that prayers should not be multiplied beyond the simple petitions of the Our Father.  The petitioner after recognizing God’s holiness makes four requests.  First, she asks for the peace of God’s Kingdom.  Then, she requests bread both for the earthly table and the heavenly journey.  Third, she looks for forgiveness of past sins.  Finally, she wants guidance to avoid pitfalls on the way to her eternal home.

We understand the season of Lent as our heavenly journey.  It is an ascent from worldly desires to the purity of mountaintops.  This ascent begins with recognizing how sin has distanced us from God’s love.  It proceeds with our being purified and strengthened through Lenten disciplines.  It ends at the celebration of the Lord’s resurrection from the dead and the pledge of our own. 

Monday, February 23, 2026

 

Monday of the First Week of Lent

(Leviticus 19:1-2.11-18; Matthew 25,31-46)

Today’s first reading is taken from the famous “Holiness Code” in the Book of Leviticus.  The code lists a series of precepts that are to be followed so that one may become holy like as God.  The precepts mirror the Decalogue, but today’s reading has a striking peculiarity.  It tells the reader not to show “partiality to the weak.”  Doesn’t this conflict with the blessing that Jesus bestows on those who serve the needy in the gospel reading?

It doesn’t if one considers the context of the prohibition of partiality.  The command applies to judicial proceedings.  A criminal suspect should be judged guilty or innocent according to the evidence, not according to socio-economic status.  Nevertheless, a poor or sick person should be assisted in meeting physical needs.  In the gospel Jesus extends the scope of beneficiaries.  They are not only members of one’s family or community but strangers as well. 

Despite our reluctance to think of ourselves as holy, achieving holiness is our vocation in life.  It is also the immediate objective of Lent.  We recognize that it is a long road that often seems endless.  But through the years and with continual effort, progress becomes evident.