Monday of the first week of Lent year A
Theme: Be holy
In the 1st reading of today, the word of God invites us to be holy, just like our heavenly father is holy. By implication, we are all encouraged to emulate the way of life of our heavenly father, and some things that we should not do because we are children of God. The emphasis here today is that we should let go the works of darkness in our lives that we are not proud of , and embrace the works of light and virtues that will help us to become good children of God and help us to attain salvation at the end of our earthly pilgrimage. The season of lent presents us with a very wonderful opportunity to accept the invitation for holiness of life that is presented to us today. The journey of a thousand miles begins with a step, never say I cannot make it. Your personal effort and the grace of God is all that you need to make it happen in your life.
My brothers and sisters in Christ, the saints we celebrate in the church, were not born as saints, they cooperated with the grace of God at a point in their lives; that is why we celebrate them in the church. In the same way, todays reading is encouraging all of us to make honest and sincere effort to embrace the Christian way of life; that is good and pleasing to God. Always be mindful of the fact that you are a child of God in your word and actions at all times. Just like saint Augustine said, “the God who created you without your help, will not save you without your consent”. The season of lent presents us the opportunity to become better persons and true ambassadors for Christ. We are all work in progress, and we have to continue to work on ourselves to become the best that we are capable of becoming; his grace will see you through.
Let us begin by embracing the three major pillars of lent and practicing them in our daily life, they are prayer, fasting and almsgiving. If we can practice them sincerely from our hearts, in no distant time, we will be true ambassadors for Christ. In the gospel reading we see the assertion of Jesus about the need for us to be generous and charitable. Almsgiving as a way of life, will greatly attract the blessings of God towards us. As you strive to practice all these in your personal life, may almighty God bless you in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit. Amen. Peace be with you.