A Moment To Pause: Lent - Monday 23rd 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. Hello and welcome to our reflection for this Monday from the Gospel reading Matthew 25:31-36. In these verses Jesus looks at the final judgement and He distinguishes the righteous( the sheep) from the unrighteous( the goats). So what makes you righteous? It is not through claiming faithfulness but more in action in the form of engaging in justice and mercy in our daily lives . Jesus emphasizes actions of mercy ‘As long as you did it to one of these my least brethren, you did it to me.’ Jesus reveals that he is present in ‘the least of these’ and the sheep can be surprised that they served Jesus suggesting that true, righteous service is often done without thought of reward or recognition and conversely we must remember that goats , those who neglect the needs of others , have failed through inaction in the face of suffering of others (Christ) . Let us pray that this Lent we become more aware of the suffering around us in our families, communities, parish and elsewhere and that we transfer our awareness into even a small action of serving the hungry, the stranger, the naked, the sick or the imprisoned. Lord gives us the eyes to see and the hands to help. Glory be to the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning , is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. Thank you for reflecting with the Oblates today.