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?
Observance of values
Let’s not be happy only with the external observances of values but also internal attitudes. The external observances are important because it makes real changes in our life. Changes which have no life. Because the attitudes and thoughts are those which give life to the external observances. External observances devoid of interiority creates duality in us which is difficult to manage, often even clashes. But when the interior attitude guides the external observances, integrity grows and happiness sprouts. Don Giorgio
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?