| Sat Feb 21 | am: 30, 32 pm: 42, 43 | Eze 39:21-29 | Phil 4:10-20 | Luke 5:27-32 |
SATURDAY AFTER ASH WEDNESDAY – Saint Eustathius, Archbishop of Antioch, 360
LITURGICAL THEME FOR THE DAY: Saint Eustathius was a 4th-century Archbishop of Antioch, renowned as a staunch defender of Nicene Orthodoxy against Arianism. As a key figure at the First Council of Nicaea in 325, he opposed the teachings of Arius, but was later deposed by Arian allies and exiled to Thrace, where he died around 337–360.
BIBLICAL MEDITATION OF THE DAY: Levi was a despised tax collector, and yet was invited to a table of fellowship with Jesus, who did not first condemn him; rather, He first extended friendship and acceptance. Is that the experience people have of us as followers of Jesus? The tenor set is very telling as it fostered a decisive call to a new way of life. Levi’s response— leaving his tax booth and following Jesus—shows that grace produces a concrete change of direction. Jesus declares that He has come “to call sinners, not the righteous.” Perhaps that is a timeless declaration that applies to more of our circumstances than we imagine.
PRAYER OF THE DAY: Gracious Father, thank You for meeting me in my broken places, just as
You welcomed Levi to your table. Empower me, by the Holy Spirit, to turn away from my “tax-collector” ways and to follow You with a heart eager to serve, through Christ, who calls us from the margins into His glorious banquet, Amen.
ANCIENT WISDOM/PRESENT GRACE: “Our Lord summoned Matthew by speaking to him in words. By an invisible, interior impulse flooding his mind with the light of grace, he instructed him to walk in his footsteps”. – The Venerable Bede
LENTEN DISCIPLINE – Call somebody who is not engaged in a community of faith and invite them to go to the Sunday liturgy with you, followed by lunch.
SONG OF THE HEART, SONG OF THE SEASON – From Tax Collector to Apostle