The liturgy for this Friday of the Third Week of Lent calls us back to the essentials of love of God and love of neighbor.

Lent is a time to ask ourselves hard questions about the quality of our faith commitment and our dedication to the truth.

If we believe in the Revelation of God in Jesus Christ, then we are called to listen to and take to heart his words for us. As the words before the Gospel remind us: “Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life; / you have the words of everlasting life.”

The Prophet Azariah models for us a prayer for mercy and deliverance. The Gospel reminds us of the necessity of extending to others that same mercy for which we pray.

As we reflect on today’s Readings, we see that the work of salvation is God’s initiative. It isn’t our place to dictate who has access to grace and the gifts of God.

In the light of God’s mercy, what seems to be an ending for us, even death, is not the end.

As we continue our Lenten journey and continue to reflect on the quality of our disciple-commitment, spend some time reflecting on the many choices that you make each day.

Drinking from “the chalice” of Jesus means that we have to make this active, self-giving love the guiding force in our lives, holding nothing back, so that others can experience the mercy, love, and freedom that has been freely given to us.

If we are sinners in need of forgiveness, how could we possibly presume to judge others?

Just as the Apostles were offered that transcendent experience of Christ’s divinity on Mount Tabor, the same divine light shines for us, showing us the way forward as we continue our Lenten journey.

In choosing to love and pray for those who might be opposed to us, we are making real the possibility of reconciliation, peace, and renewed relationships.

Saint Katharine Drexel embodied the work for justice and reconciliation in her ministry among Native American and African American communities across the United States

In prayer, we stand, with both hands raised to heaven asking for what we could never provide for ourselves.

In this mid-point of the First Week of Lent, it might be good to pause and ask what have we changed in our lives—or, better yet, what has changed about us—since Ash Wednesday?

As we offer back to “Our Father” the words that we have received from the One who is himself the Word Incarnate, we can have confidence that God hears us and desires to bless us as we continue along our pilgrim way.

The Readings for Monday of the First Week of Lent invite us to recognize that our faith must be lived in a way that not only brings us into right relationship with others, but which also becomes a blessing for them.

The Season of Lent reminds us that holiness is really only possible for us if we enter into the struggle, remembering that whatever darkness we may encounter will not overtake us.

It is Jesus, the “Face of the Father’s Mercy”, who offers renewal and reconciliation to those who are willing to acknowledge our need for forgiveness and mercy.

Our Lenten fasting and abstinence should be helping us to focus less on ourselves and to become more attuned to those around us

The liturgy for the Thursday after Ash Wednesday reminds us that the Season of Lent is a season of decision