Greetings of peace to you this Lenten Season.
Lent is a time for personal and societal repentance, radical conversion and transformation. Living under the brutal occupation of the Roman empire, Jesus declared: “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe in the Gospel.” Living in the U.S. empire, we need to heed Jesus’ proclamation of repentance and conversion now more than ever as we seek repentance and conversion of ourselves, our society, and nation, as well as our churches, to the Gospel mandate of love, justice, and a reverence for all life.
In today’s (March 7, 2025) Catholic lectionary, the first reading is from Isaiah 58. Below is a slightly revised version of a contemporary
St. Oscar Romero declared: “A Church that doesn’t provoke any crises, a gospel that doesn’t unsettle, a word of God that doesn’t get under anyone’s skin, a word of God that doesn’t touch the real sin of the society in which it is being proclaimed – what Gospel is that?”
Dorothy Day declared, “The greatest challenge of the day is: how to bring about a revolution of
In this time of peril and ruthless political upheaval, we need to dig deep into the well of faith, practice repentance and resist the forces of oppression, destruction and death. Let us thank God for the many people and groups across the religious and political spectrum who are working tirelessly for the common good and who are challenging and resisting a power structure rooted in White Supremacy, Christian Nationalism, systemic racism, oppression, and violence, and are committed to bringing about racial, economic, environmental and social justice, just peace and the abolition of war, nuclear weapons and all weapons and war.
In this time when genocide, ethnic cleansing and forced displacement is being perpetrated against the Palestinian people by the Israeli and U.S. governments, let us pray and live these prayers from our friends from Sabeel, the Palestinian Liberation Theology Center:
Christ the Liberator, you call us to the way of nonviolence—a love so radical that it refuses to hate even in the face of injustice. Teach us to see our enemies as fellow image-bearers of God, to resist the temptation of vengeance, and to reject the lie that violence can bring peace. We confess that we are all sinners, in need of your grace. Help us not to confuse love with passivity or justice with revenge. Strengthen us to hold one another accountable, especially those in power, without losing sight of our shared humanity. May our resistance to oppression be shaped by truth and compassion, so that in seeking justice, we do not become what we oppose.
Dear Lord, in this season of fasting and lament, we remember those who hunger, those displaced by war, and those whose homes are turned to ash, especially in Gaza and the West Bank. As we journey through Lent, deepen our commitment to justice and repentance, that we may work to end despair and suffering and help build a world rooted in your peace.
Divine Creator, as our Muslim brothers and sisters enter this sacred month of fasting and prayer, we ask for your blessings upon them. We especially remember the suffering people of Gaza and the West Bank, who are being deprived of basic needs. May this Ramadan be a season of healing, and may your justice break forth like the dawn.
Lord, in your mercy… hear our prayer.
Inspired by the Holy Cloud of witnesses, let us work in solidarity with sister’s and brother’s everywhere to create the Beloved Community as we seek to redeem the times by making God’s reign of love, justice and peace a reality in our society and world, right here, right now!
In the peace and hope of Jesus,
Art
A LENTEN MEDITATION: CONTEMPORARY ADAPTATION OF ISAIAH 58: 1-12
by Art Laffin
Cry out, don’t hold back.
Lift up your voice like a trumpet.
Announce to my people their rebellion,
To the nation their sins.
Yet, day after day, the rulers and countless people invoke my name,
as if they practiced righteousness and did not forsake the ordinance of their God.
They delight to invoke my name to bless their violent deeds.
They use my name to bless and justify their systems of power, structures, institutions, wars and weapons.
We practice good religion, they say.
We pray and serve our country well.
We keep good law and order.
Look, you serve your own interests, not mine, says Yahweh.
You follow your religion of nationalism, materialism and militarism,
You are slaves to selfishness.
You know not my ways.
You don’t know how to fast– your rituals are empty!
You assert an authority you say is rooted in morality.
You hypocrites!
Your morality is rooted in worshiping idols– gods of metal, money, greed and self-serving power.
You are desecrating the earth and destroying countless lives!
You worship false gods, not me!
Is not this the fast that I choose–the real act of worship that I desire:
to undo the thongs of the yoke, to renounce white supremacy, empire and all systems of political and economic domination and oppression,
to resist all violence, racism, sexism, discrimination, torture, the death penalty, and all killing,
to let the oppressed and captives go free,
to renounce nuclearism and abolish nuclear weapons, killer drones and all weapons,
to end all injustice,
to reverence all life and to safeguard creation!
Is it not to share your resources with the poor, to offer hospitality to the homeless, to welcome the refugees and immigrants, to clothe the naked, and to provide quality housing, health care, food, education and work for everyone?
Is it not to love your neighbor, to practice mercy and nonviolence, to make sure that the dignity of each person is respected and to recognize that all human beings are sisters and brothers, children of God?
Is it not to eradicate poverty, inequality, racial hatred, injustice and abolish war so that people can live in justice and peace?
Then and only then shall your light break forth like the dawn and your healing shall spring up quickly.
Then you shall call and the Lord will answer; you shall cry for help, and the Lord will say, Here I am.
If you remove the yoke from among you, the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil,
the demonization and scapegoating of your adversaries,
the profiling and targeting of African Americans, Muslims, Immigrants and people of color,
if you offer food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted,
if you establish justice for the oppressed, proclaim liberty to the captives, and practice restorative justice,
then your light shall rise in the darkness and your despair be transformed into hope.
The Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy your needs in parched places, and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water whose waters never fail.
Your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt, you shall raise up the foundations of many generations;
you shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to live in.
