Thursday of the 4th week of Lent
Saint Turibius of Mongrovejo, Bishop
“But Moses pleaded with the Lord his God” for the people who did a great sin. This is something we have to learn very much in our life. To plead with the Lord our God for others, especially for the mistakes of others. This is very good for our relationship with God. This shows our openness to God. This shows our trust in the Lord. This shows our freedom with the Lord. Not only that, but it is also the best way to deal with the sins and mistakes of others. Instead of getting irritated, or instead of getting angry, we must learn from Moses to plead with the Lord for others who are in mistakes. There is something more important in the prayer of Moses. That is his self-sacrifice. We read that the Lord wanted to destroy the people who sinned and make a great nation out of Moses. That was a big opportunity to Moses to become the father of a great nation and take the place of Abraham. Moses did not accept this offer to make himself something bigger. He chose to plead mercy for the people. That is why the pleading of Moses is special because he pleaded in his sacrifice, he pleaded in his self-denial. We must learn to plead for others before the Lord with our sacrifices and self-denial. Let’s reflect: Lent is the time to learn to plead for others with our self-sacrifices.