Lenten reflection

First Thursday of Lent

Help! - The Beatles must have been reflecting on the readings for today when they wrote this song. In our first reading, Esther implores God for help as she prepares to approach the king without invitation, an offense punishable by death, in order to save her people. The Lord indeed provides protection for Esther, and her life, as well as the lives of her people, is spared. The Psalmist tells of how he called on the Lord for help and the Lord answered him, giving him strength. In our Gospel, Jesus tells us that if we ask the Father for help, we will receive what we need and find what we seek. Clearly, our scriptures are telling us that not only is it ok to ask for help, but also that it is necessary. However, in a culture that constantly tells us that we must be independent, that we must be able to do everything on our own, that asking for help, makes us appear weak and incompetent, asking for help is more easily said than done.

So often we don’t want to burden others with our own problems – they have problems of their own, we think. But I think the last line of our Gospel offers an important point on this attitude: “Do to others whatever you would have them do to you.” Do we not hope that our friends would come to us if they were in need of help? Scripture tells us that the same is true for God – He wants us to come to Him in friendship when we are in need of help. Indeed, our readings today hint that we might need a change in perspective on asking for help that the Beatles articulate well: 

When I was younger so much younger than today
I never needed anybody's help in any way
But now these days are gone I'm not so self-assured
Now I find I've changed my mind and opened up the doors

May we “change our minds and open up the doors” to ask God and others for help in our Lenten journeys as we continue to prepare for the joy of Easter.

Emily Persicketti
College of Nursing, Class of 2016