Tuesday of the Second Week in Lent

Today's Mass Readings

In today's first reading from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah, we find a theme that echoes throughout the prophetic literature of the Old Testament, namely, that the point of penance and ritual sacrifices was to help createan interior repentance. This is a theme picked up as well by today's responsorial Psalm and by the gospel reading from Matthew's Gospel. Penance and sacrifices can and should be good things. They are not very useful, however, if they do not produce in us the proper interior attitudes and the proper exterior behavior toward one another. Penances are intended to teach us how to love God and love others more completely. That's really what this season of Lent is about. Lent is a school where we learn the love of God: both how to love God and how to love God through others, as well as how much God loves us. Penance is a great gift of grace where we allow ourselves to be transformed by God's gracious action in our lives.

This Lenten season, let's take that extra effort to allow our penances to be life-transforming. No matter how big or small our penances are this Lent, let's really focus on our actions in our day-to-day lives. Perhaps we can start examining our behaviour throughout the day asking ourselves at various times, "how am I treating others around me?" The penance God desires from us are penances that lead us to true repentance; a turning away from sin and a turning toward God.

- Jeff Morrow