Homily
for Monday
1st Week
of Lent
March 7, 2022
Collect
Lev 19: 1-2, 11-18
Salesian HS, New Rochelle, N.Y.
In the prayer of the Mass, we prayed that
God would convert us, “that we may benefit from the works of Lent.”
You may wonder what the works of Lent
are. In the Christian tradition, there
are 3: prayer, fasting, and
almsgiving. We might prefer to call
almsgiving “charity.”
Our Scripture readings this morning suggest some specific acts of charity. The OT reading calls upon us to treat people fairly and honestly—not to steal, lie, or cheat them, for example (Lev 19:11-16). Honesty is a “work of Lent,” something all of us can do, even if it requires some kind of conversion in our attitude or behavior. That’s what Lent is about. Without conversion, we’re wasting our time and effort.
The reading also commands “nor shall you
stand by idly when your neighbor’s life is at stake” (19:16). That’s why we are backing Ukraine in their
war against the murderous Russian invasion.
You and I aren’t able to fight, literally, for Ukraine, but we can
support them in prayer. We might also
have a chance literally to give alms, to make a financial contribution to
assist the refugees.
The reading, finally, commands us not to
hate (19:17). The Russians are acting
terribly. We must pray for them too,
besides resisting their criminal acts.
No comments:
Post a Comment