| Fri Feb 20 | am: 95, 31 pm: 35 | Eze 18:1-4, 25-32 | Phil 4:1-9 | John 17:9-19 |
FRIDAY AFTER ASH WEDNESDAY
LITURGICAL THEME FOR THE DAY: St. Leo of Catania, Bishop ( 789)
Saint Leo was bishop of the city of Catania, in Sicily. He was famed for his benevolence and charity, and his Christian love for the poor and the vagrant. The Lord granted him the gifts of healing various illnesses. He was especially steadfast in defending the faith against the paganism and sorcery still prevalent in those regions.
On the Fridays of Lent, it is customary (in the Church of the East and West) to abstain from meat as a sign of our common penance. It represents our efforts to abstain from – do without
– so many other patterns that get in the way of our happiness and wholeness. Sacrifice and doing without are worthy thoughts to ponder when one considers the life and witness of the saint remembered this week.
BIBLICAL MEDITATION OF THE DAY: The Old Testament reading for today from Ezekiel opens with a stark declaration: “The soul that sins shall die.” In verses 1-4, God rebukes the notion that children inherit the guilt of their parents, insisting that each one of us is accountable for
our own choices. Later, verses 25-32 expand this principle: the wicked who turn from sin and do what is right will live, while the righteous who persist in wrongdoing will die. We are faced
again with the simple truth of this season that Lent is a season to examine the ways we have chosen paths that separate us from God. Ezekiel reminds us that we cannot hide behind family, tradition, or past successes; each day, we are called to account for our actions.
ANCIENT WISDOM/PRESENT GRACE: “Fear not that thy life shall come to an end, but rather fear that it shall never have a beginning”. – St. John Henry Newman
PRAYER OF THE DAY: Merciful God, who judges each soul according to its own deeds,
Grant us the courage to own our choices and to turn from every way that separates us from Your love. Help us to replace selfish habits with acts of mercy, to let our fasting be a doorway to compassion, and to let our prayers be accompanied by justice toward the poor, the broken, and the forgotten. May Your word fill our hearts this Lenten season, so that we may die to sin and rise to the abundant life You offer. Through Christ our Lord, who redeems us and calls us to newness of life, we pray. Amen.
LENTEN DISCIPLINE – Mindful of the word of Ezekiel, let us use today to perhaps confess a specific sin that has lingered this year, either by omission or commission, and in making the Confession, take the step to fast from something that enables that sin (e.g., idle scrolling that fuels envy, a snack that fuels glutton. With that perspective, we can take a step to do one concrete good for someone you have hurt or for a person in need.
SONG OF THE HEART, SONG OF THE SEASON – We Choose Life by Tim Mannion