“Lent is a season when God invites us to be honest—not only about what we do, but about what is happening inside our hearts.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus says: “Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the Kingdom of heaven.”
Jesus is not asking us to be more religious than others. He is asking us to be more sincere. A faith that looks good on the outside but remains unconverted on the inside is not yet the faith God desires.
This Gospel offers us three simple but challenging invitations for Lent.
First, Lent challenges us to move beyond external religion to interior conversion.
The scribes and Pharisees followed the rules. But Jesus looks at the heart.
Lent asks us: What attitudes do I carry? What have I ignored inside myself?
Lent is not about pretending to be holy.
It is about allowing God to soften what has become hard within us.
Second, Lent challenges us to face anger, resentment, and unforgiveness.
Jesus says that before violence happens with our hands, it often begins in the heart—with anger, harsh words, and broken relationships.
We may not have harmed anyone physically, but many of us carry old hurts. Lent gently asks: Whom do I need to forgive? Whom have I avoided?
Unforgiveness weighs us down and blocks peace. Lent invites us to let go—not because it is easy, but because it is healing.
Third, Lent challenges us to choose reconciliation before ritual.
Jesus says: If you are about to offer your gift at the altar and remember a broken relationship—stop first and be reconciled.
This tells us something beautiful about God: He prefers healed relationships over perfect rituals.
Prayer, fasting, and almsgiving are important—but they must lead us to love more, forgive more, and reconcile more.
Final Thoughts
My dear brothers and sisters, this Lent, the Gospel challenges us:
- to seek interior conversion, not just external practices
- to heal anger and resentment, not hide them
- to choose reconciliation, not delay it
God does not ask us to change everything today. He only asks us to begin—with one honest step, one forgiven person, one reconciled heart.
May this Lent lead us not only to Easter celebrations, but to Easter hearts—renewed, reconciled, and alive in love.”