REFLECTING ON TODAY’S READINGS

We hear in Deuteronomy, “We cried to the LORD, the God of our ancestors, and the LORD heard our cry and saw our affliction, our toil and our oppression.” If God hears the cries of the poor, how should we interact with those who are poor, oppressed and marginalized?

Paul calls us to put our faith in God, trusting that in so doing, God will act. Jesus shows us what that looks like by resisting temptation in the desert and living those 40 days in trust. Where in our lives are we called to trust God more explicitly this Lent?

This week, CRS Rice Bowl features a family from Colombia who, forced to flee their home because of conflict, experiences firsthand what it means to be aliens in a foreign place, left to rely on the fruits of land. What initially appears frightening and lonely becomes the stepping stone to new opportunity and community. How do I welcome the stranger in my daily life? Do I offer opportunity and community, or do I turn my back on my neighbor?