1ST WEEK OF LENT

When I called, you answered me; you built up strength within me.

Today’s responsorial psalm teaches us how to pray, especially when we face particularly difficult situations: put yourself in God’s hands, trust him to hear you, and know that he will strengthen you. We can see such a process unfold in the story of Queen Esther in today’s first reading.

Esther, the Jewish wife of the Persian emperor Ahasuerus, was in a tough spot. A Persian official named Haman hated the Jews, and so he devised an underhanded way to get rid of not just Esther’s uncle, Mordecai, whom he resented, but all the Jews in the kingdom. Claiming that their religious customs posed a threat, Haman convinced the emperor to decree that every Jew in the land should be executed.

Fearing for his people’s lives, Mordecai urged Esther to intercede on their behalf. She knew that anyone who approached the king without being summoned faced the possibility of execution themselves, but she didn’t refuse. Instead, she joined her community in earnestly praying and fasting. She trusted that, as she called on him, God would help her.

And God did. In the words of today’s psalm, he “built up strength” within Esther (138:3). He gave her the courage to risk approaching the king (Esther 5:1-2). Mercifully, the king accepted her, and in the end, her intercession saved her people (7:3).

Think about the big things that are on your heart today. Maybe it’s the plight of the homeless in your town, your grandchild’s indifference to the Church, or the sadness of a friend whose spouse has died. Lay them before the Lord. Remember how faithful he has been. Invite others to join you in prayer and maybe even fasting. Linger in prayer long enough for God to make your role clear to you. Then let the Lord strengthen you to overcome any nervous hesitation you might feel so that you can do what he inspires you to do.

Like Esther, we can be confident that God has put us here for a reason and that he will give us the strength to do his will.

“Lord, thank you for putting this need on my heart. Show me what you are asking me to do about it. I count on your strength within me.”

Esther C:12, 14-16, 23-25
Psalm 138:1-3, 7-8
Matthew 7:7-12