Homily for Thursday, Week 1 of Lent

Homily for Thursday
1st Week of Lent

March 2, 2023
Ps 138
Est C: 12, 14-16, 23-25
Collect
Christian Brothers, St. Joseph’s Residence, N.R.

“Lord, on the day I called for help, you answered me” (cf. Ps 138: 3).

Today’s Scriptures emphasize prayer of petition.  Queen Esther petitions the Lord, the God of her ancestors (C: 8), for help and protection before she goes to petition the king, to whom she refers as “the lion” (C: 24), to save Israel from the plot of their enemy Haman.

The psalmist celebrates help already received from God.  Many of the psalms are prayers for deliverance—of an individual like David from a personal enemy, of the whole nation from its foes.  Today the psalmist expresses his thanks because the Lord has heard him in some trouble.

Jesus urges us to call upon our heavenly Father for whatever we need.  He doesn’t exclude material needs—in fact, using 2 examples related to food (Matt 7:9-10)—but we know that’s not his primary concern.  Rather, we need to ask God for “a spirit of always pondering on what is right” and then for divine assistance “to carry it out” and “to live according to [his] will” (Collect).

In the collect we acknowledge our frailty:  “without you we cannot exist.”  Without God’s help, we can’t prevail against our mortal foe, the enemy of humanity who deceived our primal ancestors (cf. last Sunday’s 1st reading) and continues trying to deceive us and destroy us.  So we’ll pray in the Prayer over the Offerings that the Lord “be merciful to those who approach [him] in supplication,” that he hear us knocking and open for us the doors to eternal life (cf. Matt 7:8).