Reading 1 Est C:12, 14-16, 23-25
had recourse to the LORD.
She lay prostrate upon the ground, together with her handmaids,
from morning until evening, and said:
“God of Abraham, God of Isaac, and God of Jacob, blessed are you.
Help me, who am alone and have no help but you,
for I am taking my life in my hand.
As a child I used to hear from the books of my forefathers
that you, O LORD, always free those who are pleasing to you.
Now help me, who am alone and have no one but you,
O LORD, my God.
“And now, come to help me, an orphan.
Put in my mouth persuasive words in the presence of the lion
and turn his heart to hatred for our enemy,
so that he and those who are in league with him may perish.
Save us from the hand of our enemies;
turn our mourning into gladness
and our sorrows into wholeness.”
Responsorial Psalm PS 138:1-2ab, 2cde-3, 7c-8
I will give thanks to you, O LORD, with all my heart,
for you have heard the words of my mouth;
in the presence of the angels I will sing your praise;
I will worship at your holy temple
and give thanks to your name.
R. Lord, on the day I called for help, you answered me.
Because of your kindness and your truth;
for you have made great above all things
your name and your promise.
When I called, you answered me;
you built up strength within me.
R. Lord, on the day I called for help, you answered me.
Your right hand saves me.
The LORD will complete what he has done for me;
your kindness, O LORD, endures forever;
forsake not the work of your hands.
R. Lord, on the day I called for help, you answered me.
Verse Before the Gospel Ps 51:12a, 14a
A clean heart create for me, God;give me back the joy of your salvation.
Gospel Mt 7:7-12
“Ask and it will be given to you;
seek and you will find;
knock and the door will be opened to you.
For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds;
and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
Which one of you would hand his son a stone
when he asked for a loaf of bread,
or a snake when he asked for a fish?
If you then, who are wicked,
know how to give good gifts to your children,
how much more will your heavenly Father give good things
to those who ask him.
GOD ALONE
"Help me, who am alone and have no help but You." –Esther C:14, 25
We have been taught to always have something to fall back on. We have insurance, savings, a nest egg, or an ace in the hole. We avoid ever getting in the position where we would have to depend on God for our next meal.
However, the Lord may be doing something almost the opposite of what we're trying to do. He is trying to strip us and leave us with nothing but Him to depend on. For example, when He sent out His apostles on mission, He commanded: "Provide yourselves with neither gold nor silver nor copper in your belts; no traveling bag, no change of shirt, no sandals, no walking staff" (Mt 10:9-10). Paul described one of his missions thus: "We were left to feel like men condemned to death so that we might trust, not in ourselves, but in God Who raises the dead" (2 Cor 1:9).
Lent is intended to be a desert experience (see Mt 4:1). The Lord wants to take food, comfort, and even some support from our lives. He wants us to know that the people and possessions He has put in our lives are not to be used as crutches; rather, they are to be accepted as gifts from Him. He wants us to know that He can love us without any intermediaries. He wants us to be alone with Him and have no help but Him. Let the Lord lead you into the desert of Lent (Hos 2:16; Jer 2:2).
| PRAYER: | Lord, You only are "my Rock and my Salvation, my Stronghold; I shall not be disturbed at all" (Ps 62:3). |
| PROMISE: | "If you, with all your sins, know how to give your children what is good, how much more will your heavenly Father give good things to anyone who asks Him!" –Mt 7:11 |
| PRAISE: | Refugees from war-torn Africa and Latin America worship together at a parish in Cincinnati. They all have become one in Jesus (1 Cor 12:12). |
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