Homily: First Thursday of Lent
First Thursday of Lent (Esther C:12, 14-16, 23-25) “Answered Prayer”
On March 16and 17 the Jewish Feast of Purim will take place. This feast commemorates the heroism of Queen Esther. Esther’s story is another story in the Old Testament about the power of prayer.
The story is more of a legend than a historically verifiable event. Esther lived in Persia at the time of the Exile. Her adopted father Mordecai was a court official for a king named Xerxes. Three events led to Esther becoming a heroine of the Old Testament.
The first thing that occurred was that Mordecai refused to worship anyone, but the one true God. Because he would not bow to the King, he lost his position. The second thing that occurred was that the queen was deposed because she also refused to be obedient to the king when he demanded to see her.
This led to the third unlikely event. All the women of the kingdom were brought before the king to see who would become the new queen. Esther was chosen. At about the same time, the King became more suspicious of the Jewish people. His chief advisor Hamon spoke despairingly of the Jewish people and convinced Xerxes that he should exterminate the Jews.
Queen Esther, aware of the instability of the king nonetheless realizes that she must try to save her people. She is afraid but prays to God for courage to do what is right. Her prayer is answered. She finds the fortitude to confront the King Xerxes. Her pleas for her people convince the King to spare them. He also makes Mordecai his chief advisor as Hamon is deposed.
Esther is remembered to this day. The Jewish people have faced genocide several times in their history. The story of Esther is a reminder that God will never desert his chosen people. We have been chosen as well. Does our prayer reflect confidence in the mercy of God?
- Do I feel that I pray to a compassionate God? What gives me confidence in God’s mercy?
- The people of Ukraine face ethnic cleansing today. Can I be like Esther and pray for them this Lent?
Dear Parishioners,
The number of COVID related illnesses are going down in our areas so we will be relaxing our protocols in the days ahead. The reason we our doing this is not simply because other churches are doing this, but because it is now safer to do so.
COVID is not behind us. I was in a nursing home today for Mass and there will still residents quarantining. As we relax our mask wearing and social distancing, we need to respect those who are still uncomfortable doing so. Please be charitable to everyone involved.
We will announce the relaxation of some of our procedures this weekend.
May Our Lady be with the people of Ukraine this day.
Fr. Mark