Monday 27 February
Monday of the 1st week of Lent Saint Gregory of Narek, Abbot and Doctor of the Church It’s very interesting to notice the connection between the who the Lord is and how we must behave each. These prescriptions begin with the sentence, “Be holy, for I, the Lord your God, am holy”. We are called to be holy because the Lord is holy. To deal with Lord who is Holy, we must be holy. And we can become holy by acting according to the instructions of the Lord. These instructions are for us to become holy like the Lord. The key is to make the other person part of you. Treat him or her as he or she is part of you. “You must love your neighbour as yourself. I am the Lord”. We can welcome others to us as ourselves only when you recognize the Lordship of the Lord over me and over others in the same way. We often discriminate the other because we forget that the other and us, we have the same Lord, and we all are equally important for Him. Accepting the Lordship of the Lord over the other person is welcoming the other person as myself. Because the Lord is Lord over me too. It’s loving the other person as myself. Let’s reflect: In my Lent, how much I accept the Lordship of the Lord over others as that of mine?
Sunday 26 February
1st Sunday of Lent First reading - Genesis 2:7-9,3:1-7 “Did God really say you were not to eat from any of the trees in the garden?” This is the question of Satan. “Do you want to follow God with your life, or do you want to become like gods?” It is the fundamental question which lies in the heart of every man and woman. The choice to be with God or to pretend be gods. To be close to the source of light or to pretend to be light. The temptation comes with the feeling that the ways to be with God, to be close to God are meaningless or even not necessary. It comes with the temptation of extreme self-empowerment which is very much appealing to our reason. We want to fully ourselves. We don’t want to depend on anything. I decide my life. I decide what to do. This extreme independent is hollow and senseless, as you can never be independent even one side. You are dependent on so many things around you, starting with air, created by God. Moreover our togetherness with God is not a dependency. It’s part of our being. We belong to Him. We are part of His plan. Once we realize this, all norms about following the Lord seem a help and not a restriction, a path and not a wall, a grace and not a law. Let’s reflect: In my Lent how much I see the precepts of the Lord as a grace to be with Him?
Saturday 25 February
Saturday after Ash Wednesday First reading - Isaiah 58:9-14 The reading from the Book of Isaiah continues with the insistence of Lord in social justice and its connection to our relationship with God. If there are hungry people around us, if there are oppressed people around us, we cannot be indifferent. We cannot just ignore them and carry out our daily lives and our daily prayers. We must give bread to the hungry and relief to the oppressed. It’s true that we cannot change everything. But do what you can. Moreover, it’s important to keep in our mind this intrinsic connection between our relationship with God and the social justice around us. We must act against the social injustice which comes from the yokes of our system, from clenched fist and wicked word. In our family, in our community and even among our friends there will be persons who suffers from our careless words which hurt them. Some may be suffering from our obstinacy or our clenched fist to conform them to our way of thinking. Let’s reflect: How much importance I give to social justice around me in my relationship to God?
Friday 24 February
Friday after Ash Wednesday First reading - Isaiah 58:1-9 The Fasting which the Lord is asking through the words of Isaiah is revolutionary. Fasting is fastened to the fraternity with the poor and the suffering. “Is not this the sort of fast that pleases me – it is the Lord who speaks – to break unjust fetters and undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and break every yoke, to share your bread with the hungry, and shelter the homeless poor, to clothe the man you see to be naked and not turn from your own kin?” So, fasting is doing justice, fasting is liberating, fasting is sharing. The fasting which the Lord want is about these – doing justice, liberating & sharing. And the Prophet Isaiah is even speaking about the consequences of this revolution. “Then will your light shine like the dawn and your wound be quickly healed over. Your integrity will go before you and the glory of the Lord behind you. Cry, and the Lord will answer; call, and he will say, ‘I am here.” There will be lot of light in the light of people around you and the wounds of our daily lives will be healed faster. The Presence of the Lord will be around us which is the most beautiful reality. Let’s reflect: how much amount of doing justice, liberating and sharing is in my fasting?