“Let me find you always vigilant, so that I may be able to count on you at all times” (Inner Word).
Vigilance is a key concept for our spiritual life and must be applied in so many areas. Holy Scripture speaks to us countless times about it.
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Day 30: “St. Joseph and the Mission of the Man”
On the occasion of the Solemnity of St. Joseph, we will reflect today, in context with our Lenten journey, a little on the one whom God chose to be the foster father of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
Mt 1:16,18-21,24ª
Jacob fathered Joseph the husband of Mary; of her was born Jesus who is called Christ. This is how Jesus Christ came to be born. His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph; but before they came to live together she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.
Her husband Joseph, being an upright man and wanting to spare her disgrace, decided to divorce her informally.
He had made up his mind to do this when suddenly the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because she has conceived what is in her by the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son and you must name him Jesus, because he is the one who is to save his people from their sins. ‘When Joseph woke up he did what the angel of the Lord had told him to do: he took his wife to his home.
Day 29: “A Testimony to the People of the Old Covenant”
The twenty‑ninth day of our Lenten journey invites us to reflect on the people of the Old Covenant, from whom our Lord descended according to the flesh, as well as the apostles. To this day, they have not recognized the Messiah. Consequently, some Jews continue to await His coming, while others see the messianic promise fulfilled in the State of Israel, or run the risk of following false messiahs—if religion still matters to them at all.
As the people of the New Covenant, we should always keep in our hearts and in our prayers the intention that, after so long, the Jews may finally recognize the Messiah, who is none other than Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
In today’s reading, we hear the prophecy that God will gather His people from among all nations, bring them back to their land, purify them of all their impurities, and give them a new heart (Ezek 36:23–28).
The context of these words is that, since the Israelites did not live in their land according to God’s will, He scattered them among the nations.
“THE RETURN OF THE JEWS IS STILL PENDING”
Beloved Father, how long have You been waiting for the conversion of Your “first love”! With unwavering faithfulness, You continue to call on them to this day to recognize Your Son and follow Him. It has not yet happened, but You will not cease until the end of time, for You never betray Your love.
UNDERSTANDING LOVE THROUGH LOVE
Beloved Father, how can we come to understand Your love even more deeply?
When the Israelites offended You by dancing around the golden calf (Ex 32:8), You accepted the plea of Your servant Moses on their behalf and did not hold their sin against them. Time and again we encounter Your willingness to forgive, even when it comes to the most repugnant sins—and there are so many.
Day 28: “The word of Jesus comes from the Father”
Returning to the biblical texts that accompany us during Lent, we hear in today’s reading (Ex 32:7–14) how the Israelites fall into idolatry. Moses must listen to these words addressed to him by the Lord:
“And the Lord said to Moses, ‘Go down; for your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves; they have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them; they have made for themselves a molten calf, and have worshiped it and sacrificed to it, and said, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!’ And the Lord said to Moses, ‘I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stiff-necked people; now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them; but of you I will make a great nation.’” (vv. 7–10).
Throughout their history, the Israelites were tempted again and again to worship false gods. That was one of the reasons why God wanted to keep them isolated from other peoples, so that they would not imitate their idolatrous practices, which are an abomination in God’s eyes. Sacred Scripture makes it clear that these “false gods” seek to usurp God’s place, and St. Paul teaches that demons hide behind idols to deceive people (cf. 1 Cor 10:19–20). To this day, they continue to work in various ways to turn people away from the knowledge of Christ.
Day 27: “Saint Abraham and His Niece, Saint Mary”
Since today’s Gospel recounts the cleansing of the Temple once again, and we already explored this theme on the seventh day of our Lenten journey (https://en.elijamission.net/day-7-resist-evil-in-the-holy-spirit/),
I have decided to dedicate today’s meditation to two saints whose feast day is celebrated on March 16: Saint Abraham of Edessa (Mesopotamia) and his niece Mary.
From a very young age, Abraham longed for a life of solitude with God, so he asked his parents for permission to become a hermit. However, his parents had already chosen a young woman whom they considered worthy to be his wife. With great regret, Abraham obeyed them. Legend has it that after the wedding, he told his wife of his decision to live in permanent abstinence. Later, he left secretly and shut himself away in a solitary cell located about an hour from the city of Edessa.
God’s call to solitude was so strong that all his family’s attempts to bring him back to his wife were in vain. He walled up his cell, leaving only a small window through which he received the necessities of life.
THE POWER OF INTERCESSION
How much Saint Abraham of Edessa must have suffered upon learning that his niece Mary—whom he himself had guided toward a life of penance and deep union with God—had been led astray and had wandered from the path of salvation. How many tears he must have shed, how many sacrifices he must have offered before he was finally able to lead her back to the path of holiness. O Lord, how many tears did Saint Monica also shed until her son Augustine heard Your voice and turned away from his errors.
THE ENCOUNTER WITH THE TRUE KING
Beloved Father, we constantly bring many intentions before You. Yet this time, it is a very significant and specific request.
In today’s meditation, we reflected on how Your Son is King and how His Kingdom must extend to all people. Certainly, this is not a dominion that can be imposed by worldly means. Rather, it is the sovereignty of love—the reign of the Messiah, the Savior of all. When all willingly submit to His yoke and follow Jesus, communion with You and true unity among people arise.
Day 26: “The Reign of Christ”
We are now more than halfway through our Lenten journey and are drawing closer and closer to Holy Week. The fourth Sunday of Lent is a Sunday of joy (Laetare in Latin). The priest may wear pink vestments to highlight the joyful nature of this day.
Today’s Gospel (Jn 6:1–15) presents us with the well‑known story of the miraculous multiplication of the loaves and fishes. The crowd had listened to Jesus’ preaching, and at the end He wanted to feed them and show them God’s providence and glory through this sign. This is what happened, and not only were they all satisfied, but there were also twelve baskets left over. The Gospel testifies that there were five thousand men (v. 10).
This miracle was a reason for the people to praise Jesus as the expected prophet: “This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world” (v. 14). However, they drew the wrong conclusion, as Scripture suggests: “Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the hills by himself.” (v. 15)