The history, prophecies, and wisdom of those Old Testament readings prepare us and help us understand the theological and spiritual background for what we find Jesus saying and doing in the Gospel
Our First reading today is a passage from the book of Daniel, where Daniel is praying to God on behalf of the Israelites. In this prayer, he is reflecting on how Israel failed to head the warnings of the prophets, particularly those of Jeremiah and how this resulted in the seventy-year captivity in Babylon of which Daniel was subject. And we hear Daniel pleading to God for mercy—to restore Jerusalem, to restore the temple, to have compassion and mercy upon his sinful wayward children. The prayer is an acknowledgement of the righteousness of God’s judgments and Israel’s total dependence upon his mercy for Israel’s deliverance and restoration.
Consider that as the context for our short Gospel passage from the Lord Jesus’ Sermon on the Plain in the Gospel of Luke. The opening line is that we must become merciful as God is merciful.
Daniel pleads for mercy in the first reading, and in the Gospel, Jesus not only claims that God is merciful, but that if we wish to experience God’s mercy, we must become merciful—we must cultivate mercy.
Here the Lord touches upon one of the great themes of the season of Lent. Yes, we are engaging in prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, doing penance as a way of pleading God’s mercy upon us. But those Lenten observances are meant to change us too. We want God’s mercy, but God wants us to become merciful. And those Lenten observances aim at that transformation.
Through prayer, we cultivate a deeper relationship with God—the merciful one. Praying for the living and the dead is a spiritual work of mercy. By praying for physical and spiritual good of others, including those who have wronged us, we exercise mercy. And the mercy exercised in prayer flows out into our relationships with these people.
Our Lenten fasting also cultivates mercy. By denying ourselves of certain foods and activities, we are fighting against our selfish tendencies which are opposed to mercy. Moreso, Fasting serves as a reminder of the needs of others, particularly those who suffer from hunger and deprivation. It inspires us to be more generous and compassionate toward the hungry--leading to acts of mercy such as feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, and caring for the vulnerable.
And our Lenten Almsgiving is of course a prime example of how the disciples of Christ are to demonstrate God’s love and mercy towards all people in tangible ways. Almsgiving demands we become attentive to the needs of others and respond with compassion and kindness.
If you want God’s mercy, you must practice mercy. You want kindness, you must practice kindness. You want patience, you must practice patience. You want the goodness of Christ to be manifest in the world, you must restrain your selfishness and radiate his goodness toward all for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.
For the whole Christian people, that in this sacred Lenten season, they may be more abundantly nourished by every word that comes from the mouth of God.
For the whole world, that in lasting tranquility and peace our days may truly become the acceptable time of grace and salvation.
For sinners and those who neglect right religion, that in this time of reconciliation they may return wholeheartedly to Christ.
For ourselves, that God may at last stir up in our hearts aversion for our sins and conviction for the Gospel.
For all who have died, and for all the poor souls in purgatory, and for X. for whom this Mass is offered.
Grant, we pray, O Lord, that your people may turn to you with all their heart, so that whatever they dare to ask in fitting prayer they may receive by your mercy. Through Christ Our Lord.
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