Dear Father, As I wrote down the story of Elijah and the widow of Zarephath for today’s reflection, I was reminded that You should always come first in everything we do. In the story, You turned her hardship around because she listened to the prophet. In the days of the Old Covenant, the first fruits were brought to You, and today it should be no different. In fact, with the light of the New Testament and the coming of Your Son, we recognize You and Your love even more clearly. May the first and last words of each day be consecrated to You. We are always called to lift our eyes to You, as Your beloved Son did. He glorified You in everything.
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LET’S NOT LOSE HOPE!
In reality, beloved Father, our life could be so simple, even after the painful loss of Paradise, because You do everything in Your power so that we may live with the dignity You have bestowed upon us. Life with You is, in reality, wonderfully simple: we recognize You as our most loving Father, we listen to Your instructions, and, with Your grace, we put into practice what You tell us. Then peace and happiness dwell within us, even though, during our pilgrimage toward eternity, we have to fight some battles on earth. Even when You make us share in the suffering of Your Son, as St. Paul explains (Col 1:24), in order to cooperate in the salvation of other people who still live far from You and whom You want to lead to their eternal home as Your children, the true joy that is You remains in us!
Day 13: “Causes of Misery on Earth”
Our Lenten itinerary today presents us with a supplicatory prayer from the prophet Daniel, who was very clear about the reason why Jerusalem had fallen into ruin.
“Lord our God (…), who didst bring thy people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and hast made thee a name, as at this day, we have sinned, we have done wickedly. O Lord, according to all thy righteous acts, let thy anger and thy wrath turn away from thy city Jerusalem, thy holy hill; because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and thy people have become a byword among all who are round about us. Now therefore, O our God, hearken to the prayer of thy servant and to his supplications, and for thy own sake, O Lord, cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary, which is desolate. O my God, incline thy ear and hear; open thy eyes and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by thy name; for we do not present our supplications before thee on the ground of our righteousness, but on the ground of thy great mercy. O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, give heed and act; delay not, for thy own sake, O my God, because thy city and thy people are called by thy name.” (Dan 9:15–19).
Day 12: “A Sensitive Subject”
1 Thess 4:1–7
Finally, brethren, we beseech and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, that as you learned from us how you ought to live and to please God, just as you are doing, you do so more and more. For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like heathen who do not know God; that no man transgress, and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we solemnly forewarned you. For God has not called us for uncleanness, but in holiness. Read More
“PURITY SPREADS LIGHT”
Beloved Father, in today’s reading You exhort us, through Your apostle, to abstain from all impurity. It is terrible to see how this vice darkens a person’s life and prevents them from perceiving the resplendent light that emanates from the purity of the holy angels, from the many virgins who were willing to give their lives to preserve it, and from the radiant splendor of the most pure Virgin. Moreover, all this is eclipsed when the spiritual impurity of false doctrines penetrates our Church, perhaps even accompanied by other forms of impurity.