Lent is viewed by some as a time to show God what we are willing to do to repent of our sins. However, it is much more a time to remind us of what God has done for us. The first reading from the Scriptures for our Lenten liturgies are all taken from the Hebrew Scriptures. Through the stories of our ancestors and the oracles of the prophets, we are reminded of what God has done for us to rescue us from slavery to sin. Today, Esther reminds us of this fact when she prays: “As a child I used to hear from the books of my forefathers that you, O LORD, always free those who are pleasing to you.”
Queen Esther also offers a magnificent prayer and a useful lesson in how to pray. Like the prayer that Jesus teaches us in the Gospel, it begins with a recognition of the majesty and supremacy of God. The glory of God is her first concern. She rejoices in that glory. It is only after she has positioned herself in the presence of the Lord that she presumes to present her petitions, the needs of her people first and then her own needs.
God knows all things. As Queen Esther reminds us, we are God’s children, and as children, it is perfectly natural for us to ask our Father for what we need. Even though God already knows what we need, we ask, we knock, we seek. Gracious Father that God is, God will not ignore our prayer.
Once again, the various antiphons and responses for today’s liturgy remind us of the need to pray. “Let my words reach your ears, Lord, listen to my groaning, and hear the cry of my prayer.” “Lord, on the day I called for help, you answered me.”
Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, .O.F.M., Administrator