Friday after Ash Wednesday

Readings of the Day

As we continue our Lenten journey, we should find it reassuring that we have such awesome fellow pilgrims like Isaiah, Matthew and Jesus. It is astounding that the prophet Isaiah, calling to us eight centuries before Christ is so in tune with our current world and the myriad of evil challenges confronting us. Sadly, the societal sins of those early days remain with us still today.

Facing many inequities, Isaiah narrates for us what the LORD wants from us this Lent:

"This is the fasting …. that I wish;

releasing those bound unjustly, untying the thongs of the yoke,

Setting free the oppressed, breaking every yoke;

Sharing your bread with the hungry, sheltering the oppressed

and the homeless;

Clothing the naked when you see them, and not turning your

back on your own.

Then you shall call and the LORD will answer, you shall cry for help, and He will say, Here I am!”

Matthew’s Gospel is so brief that if you are momentarily distracted, you might miss the message. When John’s disciples ask Jesus why his disciples do not fast, Jesus is succinct in his response: “Can the wedding guests mourn (fast) as long as the bridegroom is with them?” Jesus knows that as the bridegroom, his time with them is short.

The time for us is also short. The Lenten message is also clear. We are called to mourn and fast as the LORD would wish. Our challenge is to do what is acceptable to the LORD. Our brothers and sisters anxiously await our response. We are blessed to have this opportunity but we must act now.

Stan Fitzgerald is a parishioner at St. Francis of Assisi Church, San Jose, CA and is involved in social ministry at his parish and deanery. A founding member of a Dayworker Center, he mentors the local Jesuit Volunteers and is active with Catholic Charities and the Catholic Worker House.

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