THE WORD IN LENT: Saturday, 3rd week in Lent
March 13, 2021: Hosea 6: 1-6; Luke 18: 9-14
What I want is love, not sacrifice, says the Word. Sacrifices, after all, are for the sake of humbling ourselves in front of the Lord that we may grow closer and closer to the Lord. If the same sacrifice puffs up my ego and takes me to a higher plane, making me think of myself as being better than my brothers and sisters and from there, look down on them, then that sacrifice not only fails to serve its purpose, but takes me away from the Lord.
The Lord invites us to understand that
our wish and effort to remain faithful to the Lord who has called us, is much
better than all sacrifices. Remaining faithful to that call would mean,
becoming more and more like God ... loving, compassionate and humble in our
spirit; not self-glorifying, self-righteous and self-magnifying!
Look at the politicians who claim to “serve”
the society and the people... majority of them are from a higher economic class
or they reach there as soon as their career picks up. There is really no
"service" rendered to people, rather they look at themselves as VIPs,
as celebrities, almost as royals! Where does the so-called purpose that was cited
for their entry into life disappear soon after?
Easy to point a finger at them, but before doing that, let us take a look at our own life! When we begin to understand that we are people of God - is it for judging the other? Is it for telling the other that he or she is not saved, or is not worthy of being called People of God? The humbler I become the Godlier I shall be; the more I serve the other the more divine I shall be; the more sincere I am in my respect for the other, the more acceptable I become in the eyes of the Lord!
Pope Francis leads us by example in this and we thank God today, for this great person, as today marks the 8th anniversary of his Papacy! God bless our Pope! Let us keep walking with our beloved Holy Father and let us rekindle constantly in our hearts and in our communities, our desire to be truly faithful to God and God alone!