Vamshi Eedara csc –
Readings: Joel 2:12-18; 2 Cor 5:20-6:2; Mt 6: 1-6, 16-18
Today our mother church begins the season of Lent. Lent is a penitential season, a time that we are called to repent and turn our hearts towards God. It is a time to keep away all our distractions and focus on our relationship with God. All the three readings of the day invite us to turn away from our sinful ways and come back to God who is loving and compassionate.
The first reading invites us to turn from our evil ways and come back to God. When we go away from God no matter how far we have gone, he is always inviting us to come back to him. He is a loving father, who with his outstretched arms offering us his forgiveness. The second reading tells us how to experience God’s forgiveness. Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins. He experienced the punishment we deserve for our sins. As a result, we may become the righteousness before God through him. In other words, we can be purified from our sins and become holy through Christ our Lord.
Through the gospel passage from the sermon on the mount, Jesus teaches us about Prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. These are the three traditional pillars of Lenten observance. During lent we are encouraged to focus on our prayer life, through our prayer life we can build up our relationship with God more closely. The purpose of fasting is to help us to be detached from the pleasures of this world and focus our attention on God.
Finally, almsgiving refers to acts of charity. This can include offering more of our time, talents, and wealth in the service of God and neighbours. With all these practices of lent, Jesus invites us to be humble and practice them with the right intention of serving and loving God and one another.