We hear a very interesting reading from the prophet Isaiah today during these first days of Lent. This was most likely written after the people had returned to Jerusalem after their exile in Babylon. Their temple had been destroyed. Their beautiful city was in ruins. They had no king. It is said that Israel fasted twice a year for many years after they returned to Jerusalem. The people of Israel ask God: We are fasting. We are making sacrifices. Why are you depriving us of justice? God responds that Israel needs to stop depriving those around them of justice and righteousness. Israel believes that they have been following the ritual ordinances of God’s law. However, they have neglected the ethical demands of the law. The people believe that they are victims, that God is treating them unjustly. But, in fact, they are victimizing others.
As we begin the holy season of Lent, we are called to the disciplines of this holy season. We are called to prayer - to grow in our faith and our relationship with God. We are called to sacrifice, to give things up. We are called to works of charity - to reach out to others out of our faith. Lent is a season when we look inward. When we look for the ways we need to change, reform, and renew. But Lent is also a season when we look outward, to the ways we reach out to others and interact with the community. Our Catholic faith is about both/and, not either/or.
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