Reading and meditation on the Word of God on Saturday of the first week of Lent, February 28th, 2026

Delivered by Angeline from the Parish of Saint Catherine in the Diocese of Seattle, Washington, USA. Deuteronomy 26: 16-19; Rs psalm 119: 1-2.4-5.7-8; Matthew 5: 43-48.BECOMING PERFECT LIKEA THE FATHER WHO IS PERFECT Our meditation today isentitled: Becoming Perfect Like the Father Who is Perfect. In the family,parents really hope that the child or their children can reach the level ofprogress according to the standards they want. If a father or mother targets ascore of 10 and their children can achieve it, or even go beyond that, theparent's goal is realized. So, perfect parents really want their child orchildren to be as perfect as they are. But not all familiesexperience this ideal. There are children who cannot meet their parentsstandard. Dialogue, compromise and openness with each other are to be madepossible, so that good relations and living together can be maintained in love.When Jesus Christ asks us to be perfect like the heavenly Father who isperfect, to be our concern in this Lent, our situation is somehow the same aschildren who have not met the standards of their parents. Lent is indeed fullof more efforts and calculations so that we are able to realize what God andthe Church wish from us. One of the most important efforts or calculations isthe act of love. When we love relatives or friends, these action is classifiedas normal love. In the family and school, a child is considered kind andsincere if he loves his siblings and friends. Among neighbors and members ofthe society, we always do acts of love, and this all makes us good friends orneighbors. However, Jesus wantsto teach us more than just this normal and good thing. Although this is ateaching for all times, in Lent it is a discipline and penance when we love,pray, help, and forgive those who do us wrong. They are deliberately jealous,angry, and hateful to us. This kind of love will make us greater and canincrease our standard as followers of Christ from the level of just good andnormal believers. Through ordinary good works and added to them are our acts oflove towards enemies, Jesus gives us a very high price and high standard, whichis to be perfect like the heavenly Father who is perfect. Moses had previouslyconfirmed this teaching to the Israelites across the Jordan River, when theysaw that God's promise was very clear to them. Everyone and the whole nationbecame a holy people of the God Almighty, who is the Lord of the entire worldand universe. Perfection like the Father conveyed by Moses required the peopleof God to obey God's commands with all their hearts and souls. The teachings ofMoses were binding and demanding, but were later perfected by Jesus, who madehimself the example of our perfection. We only need to obey and be loyal toHim.Let's pray. In the name of the Father... O Good and kind Father, make us live in the fullness of Your love andenable us to practice this love wholeheartedly towards our neighbors. Glory tothe Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit ... In the name of the Father...