Reflection for 1 March 2026: 2nd Sunday of Lent (Year A)
“Beloved: Bear your share of hardship for the gospel with the strength that comes from God.” (2 Tim 1:8)
Dear Marian Helpers and Members of our Marian Family,
It’s usually around this time of Lent where we start second-guessing our Lenten penances: “Did I say no sweets during Lent? What I actually meant was no sweets during Lent on weekdays that begin with a vowel.”
Perhaps I exaggerate a bit, but I do so to make a point.
Lenten penances are a way to train ourselves, our minds and bodies, to put our impulses and desires in check. As difficult as this training in discipline may be, it is necessary. But we don’t do it alone, thankfully. We do it together and, more importantly, we do it with the “strength that comes from God” (2 Tim 1:8).
To live a holy life means a lot of things…but it also means that we need to learn the value of moderation and prudence.
Do you like to talk a lot? Maybe during this Lent discern which words are necessary and which words are just filler.
Do you like to complain? Discern which things you are actually able to change and which are just not worth wasting your time and energy on.
Through all of this, the difficulties and challenges of both Lent and daily life, we attempt to listen to the voice of the Lord, speaking to us above the noise that fills the world around us. His is the only voice worth listening to, the only voice that can and will and does bring salvation, holiness and peace.
In the silence of prayer and recollection and in the midst of our Lenten penances, we hear Jesus speaking words of encouragement and change to us.
We hear Him say: “Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent” (Rev 3:19). We hear Him say: “Rise and do not be afraid!” (Mt 17:7)
May God bless you now and always!
Fr Alex Pumphrey, MIC
______________________________
Contact Father Alex at info@divinemercy.org.uk
Please send us your prayer intentions during Lent! (click here). We will place them at the foot of our altar in the Divine Mercy Apostolate’s Chapel here in West Ealing, London and will remember them in our daily Chaplets of Divine Mercy.
