Tuesday 3rd of March
“Cease to do evil; learn to do good.”
Isaiah 1:10,16-20
In this reading today, God responds to the assembly gathered in the Temple, who are lamenting and seeking God to save them from a terrible crisis, possibly war or siege. Instead of immediately granting salvation, God laments their immoral lives and rejects their empty religious rituals. Their sacrifices and prayers are meaningless because they are not matched by justice, mercy, and compassion. God calls them to real conversion to “cease doing evil” and to “learn to do good,” especially by defending the orphan, pleading for the widow, and helping the oppressed. This message speaks powerfully to the season of Lent. It is a time for a change of heart that leads to practical love. Sin is not only the evil we commit; it is also the good we fail to do. How do we actively seek to do good?
Who are the “oppressed,” the “orphan,” and the “widow” today? Today, they include those burdened by anxiety, financial stress, addiction, loneliness, illness, or grief. They may be the elderly neighbour on our street, a struggling family member, a parishioner who cannot get to Mass, or someone who feels they have no real sense of belonging. Let’s try to think of some practical ways we can “seek the good of another.”