Lenten Season Lesson: Charity and Prayer are Not Optional, but Obligatory
Fr. Hugh Gillespie, SMM
Lenten Season Lesson: Charity and Prayer are Not Optional, but Obligatory
We all are sinners. This is obvious, but it is possible on any given day for us to forget that.
We might focus on the sinfulness of the world. We focus on the failures of others. We may also focus on the ways we have been wronged.
We are sinners, but at times that thought can become distant. This theme runs through the Lenten Season. The Lord tells the people in scripture that the issue is not that you don’t go to Church (temple). It’s not that you aren’t sacrificing. But you are allowing things to blind reality.
The Lord says you come to give sacrifices to the temple but walk by your brother in need and do nothing. Any one of these things aren’t bad. What is bad is that we do not allow the very best of things to penetrate us. The first four days of Lent is a special period.
If you want to follow Jesus, deny yourself, and pick up your cross. Hear the insights within the Homily.
Charity and prayer are not optional, but obligatory.
You cannot have a relationship with the Lord, without caring for His people. Understand what this means during this Lenten Season and its implications for us!
Return to Meditation Media
Christ in Gethsemane: German Painter: Heinrich Hoffman: 1886
The Calling of St. Matthew: Italian Painter: Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, : 1599-1600
This painting is unique. It depicts Jesus, with an outstretched arm, pointing to Levi. The tax collectors are illuminated by light as they look at Jesus. St. Peter stands near Jesus, as He tells Levi to Follow Me!. The painting resides in Rome within San Luigi dei Francesi. The painting hangs next to two other St. Matthew paintings, including the Martyrdom of St. Matthew.
The above painting is referenced within the Homily. Select the image to expand it.
Lenten Season Lesson: Charity and Prayer are Not Optional, but Obligatory
