A Moment To Pause: Lent - Friday 27th February 2026

Good Morning. Thank you for joining all of the Oblate Family today for our time of reflection and prayer during Lent with Pat Hughes. Today,Friday of the first week in Lent, has a gospel reading from Matthew 5:20-26. You are welcome to join me in a difficult reflection based on anger and reconciliation. Which of us has not had anger against someone close at some point?  Jesus says “Whoever is angry with his brother will be brought to trial” and “ if you are about to offer your gift to God at the altar and there you remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar, go at once and make peace” Jesus points out that these emotions are the root cause of violence and that they must be addressed immediately before they manifest in harmful actions. God does not accept worship while we willfully maintain enmity with others. So what must we do? Examine our hearts! Take the first step towards peace! Be mindful of how we speak about, and to, others! Lord we pray that this Lent, and going forward, that we honestly examine our hearts, be enabled to take the initiative toward peace and challenge ourselves to replace insulting language with words that build up, recognizing that our speech shapes our relationships. We ask this through Christ Our  Lord, Amen. Thank you for praying with the Oblates today.