40 Shades of Lent by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Friday in the Second Week of Lent, 10 March 2023
Genesis 37:3-4, 12-13, 17-28 >> +++ << Matthew 21:33-43, 45-46
Photo by author, sunrise at Katmon Nature Sanctuary & Beach Resort, Infanta, Quezon, 04 March 2023.
Today O God you speak to us
of the most lovely virtue of kindness
which is more than being good to another
but precisely of treating others as a "kin"
or a kindred; being "kind" is the most
Christian word because it refers to our
being one big family in you our Father
with each one a brother and a sister in
Jesus Christ.
How sad we have become more
unkind than ever, just like the sons of
Jacob, the brothers of Joseph:
They said to one another:
“Here comes the master dreamer!
Come on, let us kill him and throw him
into one of the cisterns here;
we could say that a wild beast devoured him.
We shall then see what comes of his dreams
(Gen.37:19-20).”
From petty jealousies among us,
our being unkind deteriorate further
into sinister plots right in our hearts
to destroy our own loved ones,
those closest to us; worst of all,
it happens in the midst of us recognizing
them as "our own flesh" like Judah
and yet still "sell" them!
Forgive us, dear Jesus, for being so unkind:
“when the tenants saw the son,
they said to one another,
‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him
and acquire his inheritance.’
They seized him,
threw him out of the vineyard,
and killed him (Mt.21:38-39).”
Our responsorial psalm captures
the reason why we must always be kind,
“Remember the marvels the Lord has done.”
Let us heed your warning against being unkind,
“When the Lord called down a famine
on the land and ruined the crop
that sustained them,
he sent a man before them,
Joseph, sold as a slave
(Ps.105:16-17).”
Teach us to be kind with everyone because
"the stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
by the Lord has this been done,
and it is wonderful in our eyes" (Mt.21:42);
This season of Lent,
let us bring back kindness in our hearts,
in our words,
in our thoughts
and in our deeds
even if others are not kind to us
because very often,
kindness has a way of teaching us
the importance of this virtue
that may not always be kind at all.
Amen.
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