40 Shades of Lent by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Friday After Ash Wednesday, 20 February 2026
Isaiah 58:1-9     +++     Matthew 9:14-15

God our loving Father,
thank you for this 
blessed season in Lent;
grant me the true spirit
of fasting,
of emptying my self
of my pride and sins
to be filled with your Spirit,
with your word,
with your love and justice;
in my fasting
and self-emptying,
help me create a space within
that shall restore 
my broken relationships
with you,
with others,
and even with my true self. 

This, rather, is the fasting that I wish: Releasing those bound unjustly, untying the thongs of the yoke; setting free the appressed, breaking every yoke… Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your wound shall quickly be healed; your vindication shall go before you, and the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer, you shall cry for help, and he will say: Here I am! (Isaiah 58:6, 8-9)

Show me, Lord Jesus
those "bonds of injustice"
and "thongs of the yoke"
you are calling me
to undo;
it is so easy to identify
the many injustices
and oppression
happening in the society
that are indications
of the very inequalities
I do against my family members,
to those in my close circle of friends
and those around me.

Let me fast,
Lord,
according to your
desire and design
that is to make you present
among us so that
whenever anyone would
cry to you for help,
they may hear through me
your voice and presence,
"Here I am!"

Lord Jesus Christ,
you have given me
with so much
and I have given you
with so little;
teach me
to give more of myself,
more of my time,
most especially,
more of you
in me.
Amen.