2ND WEEK OF LENT

Make justice your aim. 

What we aim for has a big impact on whether we ever hit the mark. So how do we set our sights on achieving justice? It can seem so idealistic and so out of reach. Where do we even begin?

One key Hebrew word used in this passage, daresh, conveys the image of someone clearing a path. Step-by-step, they are forging a way toward a more just future. There is no shortcut for creating a natural path outdoors, and neither is there an effortless or one-shot method for achieving justice. Rather, it’s an ongoing task that, like clearing a path, usually begins with a step in the right direction.

Step-by-step: that can sound slow and tedious. But let’s consider how much good can come out of each single individual who personally answers the call to seek justice. Blessed Frederic Ozanam, founder of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, began his work by delivering his own supply of winter firewood to a woman who was recently widowed. One act of charity at a time, he and his friends looked after the poor of Paris. Eventually, their fervor and authentic practice of the gospel caught on. Now some 800,000 members in 140 countries are following along his same path of concern for the poor.

This is the same principle that each of us can follow: rise to meet a single visible need, and then faithfully continue to tread the path toward justice. Of course, God doesn’t ask us to provide for everyone’s needs indiscriminately, but we can trust him to guide us to specific people and situations. As we respond by putting one foot in front of the other, we can also trust him to provide us with the grace and the resources to continue down that path.

The Lord hears the cry of every victim of injustice, and he asks us to do the same. So consider the opportunities in your midst and how you might head toward the need instead of keeping your distance. Make the meeting of that need your desire. Then aim for it and go!

“Father, let me never stop looking for ways to make justice my aim.”

Psalm 50:8-9, 16-17, 21, 23
Matthew 23:1-12
Isaiah 1:10, 16-20

WORD AMONG US