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Today’s readings confront us very concretely with the depths of the human heart and with the evil deeds that spring from it. First, we hear part of the story of Joseph and his brothers (Genesis 37:6–22). Joseph’s brothers realized that their father, Jacob, loved Joseph the most. Joseph was the one who told their father about the evil things they did while grazing the sheep and goats. Therefore, “they hated him and could not speak peaceably to him” (v. 4).

Their hearts grew darker and darker, and when Joseph innocently shared with them two prophetic dreams indicating that one day they would bow down before him, this increased their jealousy even more. When a favorable opportunity presented itself, they decided to kill him. Only one of the brothers, Reuben, wanted to save him from their hands and bring him back to their father. He persuaded them to throw him into a cistern in the wilderness and not to shed his blood (cf. v. 22).

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Today, on the sixteenth day of our “Lenten retreat,” the prophet Jeremiah reminds us unequivocally in whom we should trust and in whom we should not: “Thus says the Lord: ‘Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his arm, whose heart turns away from the Lord.’” (Jer 17:5). This is a similar exhortation to that found in another valuable saying from the Psalms: “Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no help.” (Ps 148:3).

Indeed, it is foolish to seek in people the security that only God can give us. It is a sign that faith has not yet taken root deeply enough in us. That is why we continue to seek false securities that ultimately place a heavy burden on our lives and, in a way, keep us captive. The prophet Jeremiah expresses this reality in strong terms and goes so far as to say that the man who acts in this way is “cursed,” since he turns his heart away from the Lord. In fact, it can become a kind of curse, because, on the one hand, we will never obtain the security we seek in people, and on the other hand, we do not turn to the Lord and thus deprive ourselves of His help in overcoming threatening situations. It will remain so as long as we do not recognize it and set out on the path to God.

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On the fifteenth day of our Lenten journey, I find myself in Jerusalem writing this meditation under the shadow of military action between the United States, Israel, and Iran. On the morning of February 28, 2026, a bombing campaign against Iran began under the name “Operation Roaring Lion.” Iran responded with missile launches announced by sirens throughout much of Israel, including Jerusalem.

Today’s reading, taken from the Book of Esther (13:8–11, 15–17), attests to God’s omnipotence, and the Gospel (Matthew 20:17–28) speaks of Christ’s reign.

The context of the reading is that the Persian king Ahasuerus, influenced by Haman, his second‑in‑command, was about to carry out the extermination of all the Jews in his kingdom. In his great distress, Mordecai, an illustrious Jew who served in the palace, raised this plea to God:

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In today’s reading (1 Kings 17:8–16), we again meet the prophet Elijah, whom God sends to Zarephath, where He had commanded a widow to feed him (v. 9). When Elijah finds her gathering wood at the city gate, he asks her to bring him water and a morsel of bread. The poor widow replies: “As the Lord your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of meal in a jar, and a little oil in a cruse; and now, I am gathering a couple of sticks, that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die” (v. 12).

Nevertheless, Elijah encourages her to do as he has told her: first bring him a small loaf of bread, and then make one for herself and her son (v. 13). He assures her: “thus says the Lord the God of Israel, ‘The jar of meal shall not be spent, and the cruse of oil shall not fail, until the day that the Lord sends rain upon the earth” (v. 14).

The widow does as Elijah tells her, believing his words, and what he predicted comes true to the letter. To listen to a true prophet such as Elijah is to listen to the voice of God. That is what the widow did, and as a reward, God ensured that she had enough food to keep herself and her son alive. She obeyed Elijah’s request even though her situation was desperate. From a human point of view, it would have been understandable if she had refused his request in order to preserve the little she had for herself and her son.

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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).

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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

In today’s reading (1 Thessalonians 5:14–23), we hear St. Paul’s instructions to the community of Thessalonica on how they should live so that God’s peace may reign among them and so that their whole being may be kept blameless “at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (v. 23) Today we will focus on three of the various exhortations that the Apostle addresses to the Thessalonians:

• “Rejoice always” (v. 16).
• “Pray constantly” (v. 17).
• “Give thanks in all circumstances” (v. 18).

“Rejoice always.”

Certainly, this is not a sentimental joy. However beautiful that may be, it can quickly fade and be replaced by other feelings. St. Paul must instead be referring to a spiritual joy: joy in God. By remembering every day that God loves us, we can find deep and lasting joy—especially when we realize that He does not withdraw His love even when we are weak and fall short of what we had set out to do. God has said an irrevocable “yes” to our lives, with which we can face the various “no’s” we encounter within and outside ourselves.

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In today’s reading (Ezekiel 18:20–28), the Lord faces a dispute with His people, who accuse Him of being unjust. What is the reason? The Lord explains:

“But if a wicked man turns away from all his sins which he has committed and keeps all my statutes and does what is lawful and right, he shall surely live; he shall not die. None of the transgressions which he has committed shall be remembered against him; for the righteousness which he has done he shall live. Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, says the Lord God, and not rather that he should turn from his way and live? But when a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and commits iniquity and does the same abominable things that the wicked man does, shall he live? None of the righteous deeds which he has done shall be remembered; for the treachery of which he is guilty and the sin he has committed, he shall die.” (Ezekiel 18:21–24)

Obviously, the Jews did not agree with these statements, for the Lord says through the prophet: “Yet the house of Israel says, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ O house of Israel, are my ways not just? Is it not your ways that are not just?” (Ezekiel 18:29)

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Today, in our Lenten journey, we are first presented with a reading from the prophet Ezekiel (Ezekiel 18:1–9). In it, the Lord wants to clarify a false conception that was evidently held by the people of Israel and expressed in erroneous thoughts and proverbs: “What do you mean by repeating this proverb concerning the land of Israel, ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge’?” (v. 2).

The Lord makes it clear that He does not want to hear such words in Israel again and that each person is responsible for his or her own actions: “Behold, all souls are mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sins shall die.” (v. 4). God then tells us how we should live to please Him, and we can summarize this in verse 9: “If a man walks in my statutes, and is careful to observe my ordinances—he is righteous, he shall surely live, says the Lord God.”

This passage offers us important guidance today as well. At times, we may run the risk of giving too much weight to the intergenerational legacies we carry with us. It would be a grave mistake to blame them for all our wrongdoings and use them as an excuse to justify a life contrary to God’s Law.

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In today’s two readings (Ex 24:12–18 and 1 Kgs 19:3–8), we encounter the two great prophets of the Old Covenant. On the one hand, there is Moses, who freed the people of Israel from the yoke of the Egyptian pharaoh and led them through the desert on behalf of the Lord. God has great plans for Moses. He calls him to climb Mount Sinai and says to him: “The Lord said to Moses, ‘Come up to me on the mountain, and wait there; and I will give you the tables of stone, with the law and the commandment, which I have written for their instruction.’”  (Ex 24:12).

Moses obeyed, and when the glory of the Lord appeared on the summit like a consuming fire, he climbed the mountain, where he remained “forty days and forty nights” (v. 18).

A decisive event was about to take place, for which God prepared Moses during that time, introducing him even more deeply into the mission He had entrusted to him.

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