What are we to do? Sometimes we "stand by idly when" our "neighbor's life is at stake" (Lv 19:16). We can easily be remiss in serving the poor, hungry, thirsty, refugees, sick, and imprisoned (see Mt 25:42ff).
Sometimes we do something, but it is the wrong "something." We are busy about many things (Lk 10:41), but we may not have chosen the better part, that is, listening to Jesus (Lk 10:39, 42).
We may do things at the wrong time. For example, we may try to remove the specks of sin from others' eyes before we have removed the plank of sin from our own eyes (Mt 7:5).
How much are we to do? Sometimes we should quit nagging others to do God's will. We should be quiet and prayerfully trust the Lord to complete His work (see Is 30:15). At other times, we may plant one seed and wait for it (see 1 Cor 3:6). Yet the Lord commands us to do more and to sow bountifully (see 2 Cor 9:6).
We can be wasting our lives by doing nothing or doing the wrong thing. Lent is the time to make sure that we do not "spend what remains of [our] earthly life on human desires but on the will of God" (1 Pt 4:2).
| PRAYER: | Father, I will work "while it is day," for "the night comes on when no one can work" (Jn 9:4). |
| PROMISE: | "Take no revenge and cherish no grudge against your fellow countrymen. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord." –Lv 19:18 |
| PRAISE: | Alice desired to be married, but had not met anyone whom she could marry. She prayed a novena to St. Anne to meet a good and holy husband. During the novena, as she went to daily Mass, she kept noticing a friendly young man. Before long, they were engaged. |
Reprinted with permission from Presentation Ministries, a lay association of the Catholic Church that focuses on evangelization and discipleship through Bible teaching, daily Mass, the charisms of the Holy Spirit, and Small Christian Community. Their ministries include:
· One Bread, One Body
· Daily Bread Radio Program
· Annual Bible Institute
· Discipleship Retreats
· Guadalupe Bible College