Thursday of the First Week in Lent

Today's Readings

In the first reading for Thursday of the first week of Lent, we are introduced to Queen Esther who is seized with anguish. Why would a queen feel like this? She is an orphan in a foreign land who is full of fear. During the search for a new queen (the previous queen had been disposed for failing to obey her king husband, but that is another story), Esther was summoned to the palace as part of a pageant, and the king came to favor her. She did not share her Jewish identity.

Meanwhile, the king’s advisor Haman convinced the king to have all the Jews in the empire executed on one day. Mordechai, Esther’s cousin and guardian, learns of this and asks Esther to intervene. Esther finds her voice, reveals herself to be Jewish, and tells the king how Haman wanted to exterminate her and her people. Haman is sentenced to death on the gallows and the Jews are authorized to defend themselves. The story of Purim is a joyous one in which an evil man, his sons, and his plot was put down. Celebrate this victory on the evening of March 6 through March 7.

It is also the story of how by using our gifts from God – our voices, our inner light, our minds – we can make the world a better a place. Believe in the Lord, ask for help, find answers within your heart. Listen to that call that you hear in the night. In those answers, find joy.

The gospel reading from Matthew also reminds us that we must ask and search for answers. We have to do our part. We must ask the questions AND listen for answers. Before we find what we need, we must SEEK it out. We must knock on the doors BEFORE they open. Be alive every day you are given that gift. Recognize the small moments of joy, of pain, of longing, and listen to those moments and find answers in your heart.

Susan Weisman
Registrar, St. Francis College