In the Spirit of the Saturday after Ash Wednesday
As we enter the holy season of Lent, the Church in her wisdom provides us with readings that call us to interior purification and deep reflection on true virtue. Today’s scriptural passages—Sirach 31:8-11 and Matthew 22:34-46—offer a profound meditation on the righteous man and the greatest commandment, urging us to seek holiness in detachment from earthly riches and in wholehearted love for God.
Blessed is the Man Who is Found Without Blemish (Sirach 31:8-11)
“Blessed is the rich man who is found without blemish, and who hath not gone after gold, nor put his trust in money nor in treasures.” (Sir 31:8)
This passage from Sirach extols the virtue of detachment. The truly blessed man is not one who merely possesses wealth but one who possesses virtue—who, despite having riches, remains uncorrupted by them. St. John Chrysostom reminds us:
“Not riches, but the madness of the rich, is condemned. Not wealth, but avarice, is censured. Riches are not forbidden, but the wicked use of them is.” (Homily on Matthew 63.4)
This distinction is crucial in our Lenten journey. It is not material possessions themselves that defile a man, but rather the inordinate love of them. The righteous man, as Sirach describes, does not allow gold to rule him. St. Augustine echoes this in De Civitate Dei, saying:
“He is not rich who possesses much, but he who desires little.”
The Church, in her Lenten discipline, calls us to examine our attachments. Do we cling to wealth, comfort, or worldly security? Do we trust in our own means more than in Divine Providence? The righteous man is one who, even in the possession of goods, remains interiorly free, offering all things back to God.
The Greatest Commandment: Love of God and Neighbor (Matthew 22:34-46)
In today’s Gospel, Christ is tested by the Pharisees:
“Master, which is the great commandment in the law?” (Matt 22:36)
His response is the very heart of the Christian life:
“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind… And the second is like to this: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” (Matt 22:37,39)
Here, Christ summarizes the entire Law and the Prophets in a single principle—love. St. Gregory the Great explains:
“The love of God is never idle. If it exists, it works great things; but if it refuses to work, it is not love.” (Homilies on the Gospels, 30.1)
Love of God is not merely an abstract feeling but is manifest in obedience, self-denial, and service. St. Augustine further expounds:
“Love God, and do what you will: whether you hold your peace, through love hold your peace; whether you cry out, through love cry out; whether you correct, through love correct; whether you spare, through love do you spare: let the root of love be within, for of this root can nothing spring but what is good.” (Homily on 1 John 7.8)
This is the perfect Lenten challenge: to examine whether our love is true. Are we loving God with our whole heart, or are we divided in our affections? Are we seeking Him above all things, or are we merely paying Him lip service? True love of God leads to true love of neighbor—our acts of almsgiving, prayer, and fasting are meant to flow from this divine charity.
Christ, the Lord of David
The passage concludes with Christ posing a question about the Messiah’s identity:
“If David then calls him Lord, how is he his son?” (Matt 22:45)
Here, Jesus reveals the mystery of His divinity. He is not merely the Son of David, but the eternal Son of God. St. Cyril of Alexandria explains:
“By calling the Christ ‘Lord,’ David acknowledges His divinity. By calling Him his son, he acknowledges His humanity. Thus, the mystery of the Incarnation is revealed.” (Commentary on Luke, 20.41-44)
As we journey through Lent, this truth becomes central to our meditation. Christ, fully God and fully man, is the one who calls us to radical love and detachment. He is the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets, the only one in whom true righteousness is found.
A Lenten Call to True Love and Detachment
On this Saturday after Ash Wednesday, these readings challenge us:
- To embrace detachment, knowing that true wealth is found in virtue, not in gold.
- To live out authentic love, not as a sentiment, but as an active self-giving to God and neighbor.
- To acknowledge Christ’s supreme Lordship, submitting our lives entirely to Him.
May this holy season of Lent purify our hearts so that we, like the righteous man in Sirach, may be found without blemish and inherit the true riches of the Kingdom.
“Create in me a clean heart, O God: and renew a right spirit within me.” (Ps. 50:12)
Amen.