Queen Esther’s story in the bible is absolutely beautiful. Her faith was truly a beautiful thing. If you have never had a chance to read the book of Esther it is so worth your time. If you simply do not have the time to do so, you really should treat yourself and watch the movie about her life. Today’s scriptures in the first reading for mass are the most beautiful verses in the book of Esther. These verses are beautiful because of her deep faith, trust and total dependence on God in a very desperate situation.
Queen Esther’s Prayer
“My Lord, our King, You alone are our God.
Please help me, for I am alone and I have no one else
but You to turn to; my life is in danger.
As a child I was always told by the people of the land
of my forefathers that You, O Lord, chose Israel
from among all peoples and designated our fathers
from among all their ancestors as a perpetual heritage,
and that all of Your promises to them were fulfilled.
Now, however, we have sinned in Your sight
by worshiping the gods of our enemies,
and You have delivered us into their hands
because You are just, O Lord …
Do not forget us, O Lord.
Be present to us in the time of our distress and grant me courage,
O King of gods and Ruler of every earthly power …
Save us by Your power, and come to my aid,
for I am alone and have no one but You on whom to depend, O Lord.”
~ Esther C: 14-25, 14:4-9 ~
Queen Esther’s complete dependence on God alone is just so profound. She was preparing to go before the king to plead for his mercy on behalf of her people, but the sentence for a woman to come before the king’s throne without being asked to, was death. Queen Esther knew she must do it anyway, but she appealed to God for her own life and the life of her people.
A very worthwhile thing to note about Queen Esther is how she prayed. She didn’t simply sit down for a few minutes in a quiet place to pray, or go to the temple for an hour or so to pray. She stopped everything she was doing and devoted the entire day from morning until night to pray and she made her entire staff join her as well. She didn’t even sit or kneel but lay prostrate on the floor the whole time. Is it any wonder that God had pity on her and answered her prayers? Who could resist taking pity on her?
What makes her prayer even more admirable is that she did not ask God for herself, she made this request of God for her people. God loves to answer prayers for other people. He answers prayers for others a great deal more than prayers for ourselves. But, the funny thing is that the more you pray for other people, the more God seems willing to listen when you ask for something for yourself. Jesus talks about this in today’s gospel, that God loves to answer our prayers and He often does grant us the very thing we ask for.
In the last sentence of today’s gospel Jesus reminds us to, “Do to others whatever you would have them do to you.” We should pray for others, because they are most assuredly praying for us, even if they do not ever mention it to us. Our poor priests are not often aware of this. They always pray for us but most of the time they do not realize how many people are lifting them up in prayer as well. It wouldn’t hurt to mention this fact to them every once in a while. It might just make their day.
We are traveling more deeply into Lent now. The time is quickly slipping away. It might be a good time to stop and focus again on praying more. Pope Francis is taking time out of his very packed schedule to go on a Lenten retreat this week. The world won’t fall apart if we decide to do the same, or at least go on a weekend retreat. If you absolutely can’t get away, or do not have the money to go on a retreat, then you might try a do-it-yourself retreat that is easily done on the weekend in the privacy of your home.
The book is called, Consoling the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and is based on the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius:
“Endorsed by EWTN hosts Fr. Mitch Pacwa, SJ, and Fr. Benedict Groeschel, CFR, this do-it-yourself retreat combines the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius with the teachings of Saints Therese of Lisieux, Faustina Kowalska, and Louis de Montfort. The author, Fr. Michael Gaitley, MIC, has a remarkable gift for inspiring little souls to trust in Jesus.”
Daily Mass Readings:
Est C: 12, 14-16, 23-25 / Ps 138: 1-2ab, 2cde-3, 7c-8/ Mt 7: 7-12
