Tuesday February 23, 2021 - First week of Lent - Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes out of the mouth of God - Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 6, 7-15

This Lent, we are asked to devote a little more time to prayer. This does not mean that we do not pray at other times, but that it is recommended at this time to strengthen our relationship with God, the One who calls us to conversion and change, the One who is Merciful. So, according to the Gospel, praying does not mean prolonging our soliloquy into an endless litany, but it is about doing it well. It is not a closed and arrogant prayer, but a prayer that opens to others, a prayer of the children of God, the prayer that Christ taught us. He began: "Our Father". It is a prayer where the pronouns "I" or "my" do not have place but where the "we" and the "our" take precedence. It is, however, addressed to one and the same person, hence the repetition of "you", "your", "your", that is to say a prayer addressed to God the Father. It is a beautiful prayer which should serve as a model for us.

In addition to praising God and asking for what is needed, this prayer also emphasizes mutual forgiveness in order to receive what is requested. It may sound easy to say, but putting it into practice is a whole other matter, however it has to be done. It is difficult as long as one locks himself in resentment and revenge, but it will be easy if one is open to others and eventually finds unspeakable peace. There are those who say that forgiving is not that difficult but forgetting who is. Let's try to remember though, how many times do we offend God in a single day, but He erases them and forgets them, when we come back to Him His mercy awaits those who return to Him. Where would we be if God held a grudge for all of our sins? Fortunately, there is nothing but love and mercy in Him. It is this attitude of God that we must imitate, and that we must do everything to have it. These are the animals that do not know how to forgive, but we humans, children of God, members of Christ: do not stop hoping for the mercy of God because we know how to forgive and love each other, not hypocritically but sincerely from the bottom of our hearts. heart. What we do, we have carefully reflected and the grace of God is always of an invaluable help to us. So let us be assiduous in prayer and do it carefully, especially in this time of Lent, so that we can forgive those who have wronged us. So our prayers will be heard. Amen.