Breaking the Word

2^nd week in Lent, Tuesday – 27^th February 2024 – Isaiah 1,10. 16-20; Mt 23,1-12

Guided by God’s Word

The first reading presents Isaiah’s attack on hypocrisy and a call for humility in the presence of God and in the presence of their brothers and sisters. He starts with strong words on his people and their rulers. He likens them to the sinful inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah. He calls the leaders of God’s people “rulers of Sodom” and speaks of the people as “people of Gomorrah”. Sodom and Gomorrah were the epitome of all that was most evil and repellent to God. They are classic examples of sinful cities completely destroyed (Gen 13,13; 18,202-21). Isaiah addresses his countrymen as deserving no better than the corrupt citizens of those wicked cities. However, he also points out the way out of sin and to blessedness, i.e., to humbly listen and submit to God’s teaching. In this way, they could learn to do good and to cease from evil. God’s Word enlightens us and shows us where we have failed.  By paying attention to God’s Word, we will confront our lives with God’s revelation and with the holiness to which God calls everyone. We learn to do good by meditating on God’s Word, asking for his guidance to apply it in our lives, and seeking God’s strength to fulfill His Word.

2^nd week in Lent, Monday – 26^th February 2024 – Daniel 9,4-10; Lk 6,36-38

Prayer of Mercy and Compassion

The first reading from the book of Daniel is a heartfelt prayer on behalf of the exiles in Babylon. It’s a public confession of sin and an acknowledgement that the people have rebelled against God. Daniel first acknowledges God’s faithful and merciful love. He knows that, despite Israel’s constant unfaithfulness, God has been and will be ever faithful to the past covenants he made with Abraham, Moses and David. Daniel recognizes in his prayer that God is righteous and just and gives to each person their due. He asserts that the Lord God is also compassionate toward those who suffer and forgives those who turn to him with a sincere heart. Indeed, Danie’s prayer is an excellent penance prayer – a national act of contrition describing God’s perfection and man’s imperfection. It is a prayer of sorrow and repentance for the many ways in which we have failed to listen to God and his messengers. It is a prayer which contains humility, worship, confession and petition. We find in this prayer that God is generous and called us to share in his divine life. God is merciful and purifies us when we repent from sin and restores us to divine sonship and life.