Memorial of Saint Benedict, Abbot

Sow for yourselves justice, reap the fruit of piety; break up for yourselves a new field for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain down justice upon you.

If we want to bear good fruits and be worthy of entering the gates of Heaven, then we need to sow justice in our lives. We need to make sure we give God what is rightfully His and treat others as we would want to be treated. Living piously is the only way to prepare our souls for the harvest. It is only by uprooting the weeds or sin and clearing the stones of stubbornness that we can make ourselves ready to live life abundantly and produce a thousand-fold the graces God has given us.

Do we seek to be just with all people, even those who are strangers and enemies? Do we treat others as Jesus would treat them? Are we willing to make the sacrifices that are necessary in order to bear good fruits?

O Lord, sow in us your justice so we might reap the fruit of piety.

Amen.

Third Saturday of Lent

What can I do with you, Ephraim? What can I do with you, Judah? Your piety is like a morning cloud, like the dew that early passes away. For this reason I smote them through the prophets, I slew them by the words of my mouth; For it is love that I desire, not sacrifice, and knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.

If we are not careful our piety can disappear like the morning dew. If our faith is founded on pride or selfishness, we can do all the right things for all the wrong reasons. Our religious observations can be done not for the glory of God, but out of an empty self-righteousness. We can think we are pious and good, but in truth we are acting like self-righteous hypocrites, who believe they are better than everyone else. Our prayers can be self-serving and our actions can bear no good fruits. However, if our lives are founded on knowing, loving, and serving God with all our being, then we shall be truly faithful to our calling to be disciples of Christ in all things.

What is our faith life founded on? How can we resist the temptations to misuse our faith? How can we become good, faithful, and loving servants to God and all His children?

O Lord, we want only to know and love you more perfectly in all things.

Amen.

The Third Saturday of Lent

Two people went up to the temple area to pray; one was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector. The Pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself, “O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity greedy, dishonest, adulterous or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week, and I pay tithes on my whole income.” But the tax collector stood off at a distance and would not even raise his eyes to heaven but beat his breast and prayed, “O God, be merciful to me a sinner.”

Jesus warns his followers against becoming convinced of their righteousness and despising others. This is not to say that his followers shouldn’t be righteous, because we all should seek to do what is right, but rather they shouldn’t consider themselves holier-than-thou. Our piety is under constant attack by the Devil and one of his weapons is pride, which worms its way into our hearts by convincing us that we are better than others and encouraging us to despise them. However, the truly righteousness will never be convinced of their superiority, nor will they look down on others. Instead, they will do what God asks them to do and cultivate the virtues of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Most importantly, they will recognize themselves as sinners, seek God’s Mercy, and be compassionate toward their fellow sinners. When we live in such a way, we give glory to God and will be exalted before Him for being good and faithful servants.

Do we believe ourselves to be better than others or recognize we too are in constant need of God’s Mercy? What are we doing to ensure our piety is not corrupted by false pride? Are prayer, fasting, and almsgiving the pillars of our lives?

O Lord, be merciful to us sinners.

Amen.