Thursday - February 25, 2021
Do not distress yourself on account of any distaste or dryness you experience in God's service. He wills that you should serve Him fervently and constantly it is true, but without any other help than simple faith, and thus your love will be more disinterested, and your service the more pleasing to Him.
-- St. Margaret Mary Alacoque
TODAY'S READINGS
February 25, 2021
Thursday
of the First Week of Lent
Lectionary: 227
Queen Esther, seized with mortal anguish,
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
R.
(3a) Lord, on the day I called
for help, you answered me.
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
R. Glory and praise to you O Christ.
A clean heart
create for me, O God;
give me back the
joy of your salvation.
R. Glory and praise to you O Christ..
Gospel
Jesus said to his disciples:
“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.
“Do to others whatever you would have them do to you.
This is the law and the prophets.”
WALKING IN GOD'S UNCONDITIONAL LOVE
Queen Esther totally trusted God (as we see in today's first reading). She knew that she could count on his help as she spoke boldly to her husband, the Persian King Xerxes (also called Ahasuerus), who was planning to murder the Jews who lived in his kingdom.
By daring to stand up for her people, she endangered her own life. Her faith in God's love gave her the courage to make a difference in the lives of others. To this day, the Jews commemorate her courage, in the Feast of Purim.
The writer of our responsorial Psalm also knew that he could count on God's help for the same reason: God loved him.
Are we that confident? We have visible proof of his love, which the psalmist did not have -- Jesus who died on the cross for us -- so why do we often act as though we're not sure that he truly loves us?
Jesus says in today's Gospel passage that we find what we seek. If we're seeking God's love, we find it. If we're seeking God's help, we find it. Jesus shows complete confidence in God's love for you when he says: "Knock, and the door will be opened for you!"
The problem is, we stand at the door and knock ... and knock ... and knock. Jesus is calling out to us, "Come in! It's not locked!" but we don't believe it. Something childishly immature in us is convinced that we don't deserve it.
We were raised in a system of rewards and punishments -- at home, in school, and even in the Church of the post-Trent, pre-Vatican II era when people feared going to hell if they sipped even a little chicken broth on a Friday.
Although our parents told us, "I'm punishing you because I love you," the child in us equated love with reward, and punishment with the withholding of love.
However, Jesus loves us so much that he took the punishment we deserve! God is not on the other side of the door blocking it until we start behaving perfectly.
When we understand what Jesus did for us on the cross, we realize that the door is already open. We step over the threshold and live with God in mature faith. Only then are we able to do what Jesus tells us to do at the end of this scripture.
As long as we think that we deserve to be punished, we want to punish others. When we know we are loved no matter how imperfect and sinful we are, it's easier to love others no matter how imperfect and sinful they are. We treat others the way we want to be treated, because the question of who deserves what no longer matters.
Forgive yourself for everything and anything that you don't like about yourself. Make a list and nail it to the door of God's kingdom. The Father will interpret that as a good, loud, resounding knock, and he will open the door wide. Now enter into his love by choosing to love yourself without limits or conditions.
Today's Prayer
My Lord, I desire a deep friendship with You. I want to open myself fully to Your love. I want to learn how to ask You for what You have already sown in my heart and long to give me. Amen.
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The mother of Jesus promised St. Dominic that, “one day through the rosary & the scapular I shall save the world!”
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