A Moment To Pause: Lent - Friday 20th February 2026

Good Morning. Thank you for joining all of the Oblate Family today for our time of reflection and prayer today with Mary Tyrrell. Hello and welcome to the Oblate reflection and prayer based on Matthew 9:14-15. You might remember that the Pharisees and the disciples of John fasted at least a couple of times a week. So they questioned why Jesus and his disciples did not fast. But Jesus more or less tells them there is a time and place for everything. For the Pharisees fasting primarily indicated an inner hunger for God.Jesus explains that while his disciples did not fast at the moment, there would come a time when they would fast thus signposting his death . Jesus likens fasting to a wedding feast when people are happy because the bridegroom is with them so fasting would be out of place. Have you ever thought that fasting represents your hunger for God? I have to confess I hadn’t but it does give fasting a much deeper meaning than just loosing a bit of weight if I choose to give up biscuits for Lent. Lord, may my celebration of Lent this year be more meaningful. Help me to reflect on and put into practice how I can draw closer to you through prayer, fasting, and studying God’s Word. Amen Thank you for joining our Oblate prayer today.