by Fr Francis Anthony
Isaiah 58:1-9
Psalm 50:3-6,18-19
Matthew 9:14-15
Way of the Cross Theme:-
Reconciliation
Dear friends,
We have begun our Season of Penance, manifested through prayer, fasting and alms giving.
But if you have followed the First Reading from Prophet Isaiah, Isaiah is telling to these people who are just back from their exile: Religion is not just the external doing. It is more than that.
Yes, we pray, we fast, we go through the various spiritual exercises. But what is important, and the text picks up a few of the sayings of Jesus at the last judgment, the one on the right are the ones who reached out to those who are hungry, to those who are thirsty, to those who are naked, to those who are sick. And it goes through.
So, religion has to be expressed in the external manifestation.
It is not just to say: Internally I’m praying, I’m going for the Way of the Cross I’m fasting and I’m praying in the upper room or the inner room. So let us ask our Lord to help us to be able to be people who are reaching out to others.
The greatest penance is to identify ourselves. I’m not presumptuous. I repeat:
To identify ourselves with God the Father. He saw the need, He sent His Son. To identify ourselves with Jesus. He saw we were sinners, He died on the cross.
An that is what is required of us, that we go out of our comfort zone and be people who are like God and like Jesus.
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