Saturday February 17, 2024

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If you remove from your midst oppression, false accusation and malicious speech, and if you share your bread with the hungry and help the afflicted, then light shall rise for you in the darkness. (From Isaiah 58:9-14)

Good News Reflection for:

Saturday after Ash Wednesday
February 17, 2024

Today’s Readings:

Isaiah 58:9-14
Psalm 86:1-6
Luke 5:27-32
bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/021724.cfm
USCCB Podcast of the Readings:
bible.usccb.org/podcasts/audio/daily-mass-reading-podcast-february-17-2024

Because Lent this year is like no other …

“Follow me,” says Jesus in Saturday’s Gospel reading. And the other readings tell us how:

Remove from your habits the sins of oppression, false accusation and malicious speech. Share your food with the hungry and comfort the afflicted. Honor the Lord by not following your own ways. In other words: Do what Jesus did, handle evil the way Jesus did, and lovingly obey the Father like Jesus did. Then light shall replace your darkness.

Consider the deepening darkness in our world: Evil has become clearer to us. We see the many ways it’s been destroying our societies, our health, our families, and even sometimes our church communities.

Lent this year is like no other.

It’s now more important than ever to read the signs of the times, especially looking for clues of what God wants us to do about evil. And we must read what’s happening in the world through the lens of scripture, which means: through God’s eyes. Not through fear. Not through the news media. But through faith in God the Father who brings resurrection from disaster.

Now more than ever we need to repent of our participation in evil — both personally and corporately. We need to repent from being silent when we could have spoken up against evil. We need to repent from the fear of persecution. We need to repent from voting for politicians who are pro-abortion and who commit and promote other destructive evils. We need to repent from anything that takes our eyes off of Jesus.

Following Jesus takes us to the purifying cross, but it also leads us to resurrection, the fruits of purification. This Lent, it’s not enough to sacrifice from eating candy or drinking coffee. Our Lenten practice should change us — make us more like Jesus — which then also changes the world.

This is how light replaces darkness. Remember, the purifying cross leads us to resurrection. The more purification we force ourselves into, the greater the resurrection. And the more serious we are about changing, the sooner the fruits of purification will change our Church and, from there, the world.

© 2024 by Terry A. Modica

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