Photo by Ahna Ziegler on Unsplash

“Before man are life and death, good and evil, whichever he chooses shall be given to him” (Sirach 15: 17)

If you watched the Super Bowl this past weekend, you may have seen the halftime show that was hosted by the Puerto Rican singer Bad Bunny. This halftime show featured a very positive celebration of the Latin American culture that in some parts of America has been under attack. A message that was proclaimed in the background through all of the broadcast was one that the performer had spoken earlier when accepting a Grammy Award. This message was and is: “The only thing more powerful than hate is love.”

The readings that we hear proclaimed on this Sunday before the Lenten season speak to us of a choice that is given to each human being. The choice is an essential choice that each one of us must make. The choice is that of choosing between life and death; or as it may come to us more commonly each day—the choice between love or hate.

This coming Wednesday, the Church begins the Season of Lent on Ash Wednesday. We are to begin this forty-day liturgical season of purification and penance by being aware that the choices that we make for sin and death are often made in the small day to day decisions that each of us make. For those of us who are baptized, Lent is a time to prepare to renew our Baptismal Promises at Easter. For those who are preparing to be Baptized or received into the Church at Easter, this Lent is a time for them to choose to say “yes” to Jesus and to follow him in the way of the Gospel.

The Gospel that we hear proclaimed this Sunday is part of a larger group of Matthew’s Gospel that we have heard over the past few Sundays. This Gospel is from the Sermon on the Mount—a series of passages that we hear over a few Sundays. Perhaps the most famous portion of the Sermon of the Mount is known as the beatitudes. Today’s Gospel is a little more concrete and specific in its content. It begins by telling us that if anyone thinks that Jesus has come to abolish the law, they are mistaken. Jesus has come not to abolish but to fulfil. For me, the only way to understand what Jesus is saying is through the filter of love. On this Valentines Day Weekend, I will use an image that I hope most loving couples will understand. When you love someone, you never strive to do the least that you can get away with. Those who really love another always want to out-do the other in generosity. You never see a couple out on a date with a copy of the contract in their hands trying to figure out the minimum commitment that they owe to one another. Normally, each wishes to outdo the other in love and charity. Jesus has come to outdo all of us by His love. In so doing, in the New Covenant, He will not just invite us to keep the law, but to go beyond by striving to live his New Commandment that we love the Lord our God with all of our hearts, souls and minds and our neighbours as self.

Jesus is inviting us to a new way of living in which love overcomes our lesser tendencies to hate, seek revenge and use others as objects for our own pleasure. The kind of thinking that Jesus is calling us to is that which we hear Paul writing about in today’s First Letter to the Corinthians. He says: “We speak a wisdom to those who are mature, not a wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age who are passing away. Rather, we speak of God’s wisdom, mysterious, hidden, which God predetermined before the ages, and which none of the rulers of the age knew; or if they had known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory” (1 Corinthians 2:6-8). It was hatred of the good that caused the rulers of Christ’s time to crucify Him, the King of Love. So too, it is hatred of God’s call to love that calls so many to act against the human person, the dignity of life and the common good of all people. The Scriptures and history tell us that all of these evil leaders will pass away and that only God and His love are eternal. In choosing to love God and others, we choose the eternal good which through Christ’s resurrection will triumph and live for ever. In choosing to act selfishly and turn our backs on God’s invitation to love, we choose death and turn away from Christ’s invitation to live with Him in eternal life.

To each of us at the beginning of this Lenten season, as we prepare to renew our baptismal promises at Easter, we should put the same question that Moses put before the people of Egypt as he invited them to the Covenant that he was leading them towards. His words: “I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day: I have put before you life and death, blessing and curse. Choose life—if you and your offspring should live” (Deuteronomy 30:19). For you and I, as Christians, the choice is to follow Christ’s path of love and to share in the victory of His resurrection, which was won for us by His sacrifice of love on behalf of humanity, or to reject it and turn away.

Some of the challenging and difficult ways that we can embrace this path of love are put before us in today’s Gospel reading. Jesus’ way calls us not to see others as objects of pleasure. So many people today struggle with an addiction to pornography and Lent is a time to turn away from this very unhealthy way of seeing others. Jesus speaks of the kind of hatred and name calling that we can each fall into. Lent is also a time to considered how we use our words to build up or tear down other people. There are also times that we come up with all sorts of complicated reasons and justifications for what we do and how we act. As we strive to be more spiritually authentic in Lent, Jesus simply says: “Let your “yes” be “yes” and your “no” be “no.” When it comes to sin, each one of us can have so many excuses.

Desiring that we all live with Him for eternity in love, Jesus expresses with stark urgency the extent to which he asks us to go in order that we turn away from sin. Jesus says today: “If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one of your members than to have your whole body thrown into Gehenna” (Matthew 5:29). I have always thought this particular line of scripture needs a little bit of explanation. We are raised being told that it is not right to push people. But if we see a loved one standing in front of a bus, we happily push them out of the way, because we do not wish them harmed or to lose them. No parent would ever want to see their child maimed or lose a limp. However, as soon as that limb became cancerous and threatened their life, the painful choice would be easily made. What Jesus is saying in this passage. Is that He and the Father love all of us so much, that they hope we will always choose life and the loving Christian options so that God might never lose a single one of us.

Lent then is a time to look at our choices and discern how we can be more loving and free in order to follow Jesus more closely. We can start with some of the things mentioned by Jesus in today’s Gospel. Are we treating friends and family properly? Is there an area of our lives where we are unfree—struggling with an addiction to a substance, gambling or pornography? How can we make some movement to greater freedom and make more choices towards the life Jesus offers us and turn away from death?

Traditionally Lenten efforts have centered on prayer, fasting and almsgiving. Through prayer we may become more aware of God’s gifts to us. Joining the parish for the Stations of the Cross on Fridays after the 7:00 pm Mass (roughly 7:25 pm), is a beautiful way of remembering all that Christ has done for us to show us His love. In a desire to grow towards holiness, fasting ought to involve turning away from anything that makes us unfree to follow Christ and love others. There are special graces in Lent and turning away from alcohol, drugs, smoking or other areas of struggle to grow in freedom may be accompanied with special graces in this season. Almsgiving is an invitation to give to those in need as a way of advancing in the call to love all people. When we give something up, the monies save can be donated to assist others. In the Archdiocese of Toronto, the ShareLife campaign always begins in Lent. There are many things we may not be able to do on our own in the city. However, through ShareLIfe, we may be able to help shelter the poor and provide for many in need. This past year, ShareLife gave to our parish’s food assistance program $27,000. Please give generously to ShareLife this year if you are able.

One of the other things that Jesus speaks about in the Gospel today is forgiveness and the paralyzing effects of harbouring a grudge. By not forgiving another person, we are choosing to allow them to continue to have power over us. We remain unfree. Jesus invites forgiveness before approaching the altar because He cannot dwell in a heart filled with hatred and resentment. To such a heart, His life-giving peace is not able to enter. In the Our Father, we pray that Jesus will extend to us the same forgiveness that we extend to others.  This Lent, who is God calling you to forgive so that you might live in Christ’s peace?  If you think that you cannot do it on your own, pray for God’s grace that you might be able to grow in this area and finally come to freedom.

The choice before each of us is to live a different life because of Christ. That different kind of life is not that of worldly leaders or worldly wisdom. The call is to live a life rooted in the love of Jesus our Savior and inspired by the Holy Spirit. Through the practice of the corporal works of mercy that I spoke about at Christmas time, each one of us can help to make the world different. The parish council will be presenting different videos on these corporal works of mercy each Sunday on the parish’s social media to help all of us think about ways that we might live them in our lives. The saints also provide us with a good example about how we might each follow Christ as more intentional disciples. Sister Carla Thomas O.P., will present a Lenten series on the life of the Saints on different Saturdays in Lent at 2:30 pm in the auditorium (February 28 and March 14, 21 and 28). There is a flyer in the bulletin this weekend about this series.

Ultimately, this Lenten season is an invitation to all of us to turn away from sin and live as more intentional disciples of Christ. As always, the best way to turn away from sin and seek God’s grace and forgiveness is to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation. The parish will have a Day of Confession on Saturday March 28 from 10:00 am to 4:30 pm, as well as the usual Saturday times and those times offered during the Thursday evening Source celebrations. You may also check out other parishes to find times of confessions that might be more convenient to you.

There is something wonderful that God has given to every living human being and that is the invitation to follow Jesus His Son and know life eternal. Easter is our preparation to embrace that invitation. Lent provides us a time to ask ourselves if we are free to accept it Christ’s invitation, and ask ourselves if we are not, what we must do to begin to grow in freedom. If we ever find ourselves discouraged or uncertain how to proceed, we must remember that love is always more powerful than hate. While it may seem that things are overwhelming at this time, the powers of this world must all pass away. Only the Risen Christ and His invitation to eternal life will eventually triumph over all.

As we begin Lent 2026, hear the words that Moses spoke to the people of Israel and dare to choose the way of discipleship in Christ: “I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day: I have put before you life and death, blessing and curse. Choose life—if you and your offspring should live” (Deuteronomy 30:19).

I pray that you have a blessed Lent. Please pray for me.

Fr. Michael McGourty
Pastor—St. Peter’s Church—Toronto, Ontario

This reflection based on the readings for the Six Sunday of Ordinary Time- Year A:  Sirach 15:15-20; Psalm 119; 1 Corinthians 2:6-10; and Matthew 5:17-37.