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The Easter Cycle
vessels were full of oil, the prophet commanded her: “Go sell thy oil and pay thy creditor; and
thou and thy sons live of the rest” (Epistle). This miracle is meant to be a figure of the blessings
wrought by our lenten penances. The widow mentioned in the Epistle is our Holy Mother the
Church. Her spouse has ascended into heaven and has left her, and since that day she has been
persecuted. The creditor, Satan, seeks to take from her the children who have been born to her
by baptism; and now Satan would give them over to destruction. She turns to the great prophet,
Christ, and obtains help. During the season of Lent, He pours out abundantly the oil of grace
that will pay off her indebtedness. Now is the time of grace. Now, by baptism and penance, He
breaks the bonds by which the creditor holds her captive. Not in vain, therefore, we cry out, “I
have cried to Thee, for Thou, O God, hast heard me; O incline Thy ear unto me and hear my
words. Keep me, O Lord, as the apple of Thy eye; protect me under the shadow of Thy wings”
(Introit). “From my secret sins cleanse me, O Lord, and from those of others spare Thy servant”
(Gradual). Now our prayers shall be heard and we shall obtain forgiveness.
“Amen, I say to you [the apostles], whatsoever you shall bind upon earth, shall be bound in
heaven. And whatsoever you shall loose upon earth, shall be loosed also in heaven” (Gospel).
Peter is near at hand in the house of Prudentiana. To him and to the other apostles Christ
entrusted the power to bind and to loose. Peter is in our midst. We have come to him and to
the Church to obtain the forgiveness of our sins. The creditor, Satan, can no longer press his
claims upon us. The Church through her priesthood possesses the power to forgive sins, even
the greatest. What she forgives will be forgiven also in heaven. “Whose sins you shall forgive,
they are forgiven them” ( Jn 20:23) in the sacrament of penance. We need only to come to Peter,
to the Church, and make a humble confession of our guilt. If we do that, the Church assures us:
“I absolve thee from thy sins.” When this grace has been given to us, we may truly say, “The right
hand of the Lord hath wrought strength; the right hand of the Lord hath exalted me; I shall not
die, but live, and shall declare the works of the Lord” (Offertory). Lent offers us an excellent
opportunity to do penance for our sins and to receive the sacraments fervently and worthily.
The Church today prays for her children, and her prayer is always efficacious. “If two of you
shall consent upon earth concerning anything whatsoever they shall ask, it shall be done to
them by My Father, who is in heaven; for where there are two or three gathered together in My
name, there I am in the midst of them” (Gospel). The Lord Himself, whose petitions are most
efficacious, prays with His Church.
“The right hand of the Lord hath wrought strength, the right hand of the Lord hath exalted
me; I shall not die, but live, and shall declare the works of the Lord” (Offertory). The Church
prays continually for the forgiveness of sins; as often as we confess them with humility and
contrition to the representative of the Church, we are assured of forgiveness. “I shall not die,
but live,” because I have, as my most precious possession, the Church, her prayers, and her
sacraments.
When we offer the Mass today, we offer to the Father the greatest sacrifice, Christ, with
all His prayers, His sufferings, and His death. “From my secret sins, cleanse me, O Lord.” For
the sake of Thy Son be merciful and grant to sinners that they may be converted and live. We
perhaps have the responsibility for seeing that some particular person finds his way to the
Church and her sacraments so that he may be converted and live. We share the responsibility
of the Church for the conversion and salvation of our brothers in Christ. Much depends on our
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