Our call to listen this season is an invitation to appreciate the word of God. Our first reading says that God’s Word would not return to Him empty without carrying out His will and succeeding in what it was sent to do.

In our first reading we note that the sequence of life is symbolized by rain and snow falling from the sky and soaking the earth, then rising towards heaven as vegetation. In the same vein the sequence of divine inspiration is symbolized as the rain and snow, and our inspired lives are symbolized as acknowledgment of God’s will (in prayer and deeds ascending to God).

When we listen attentively to the Word, we come to realize that this effective listening and response goes beyond our season of Lent. Lent is merely a preparation in effective listening to God’s Word and His Will. Our life is meant to be a total response to God’s constant invitation to doing His will and living out our lives in accordance to His will.

We live out our lives accordingly when we seek first the Kingdom of God. Thereafter God adds the rest to our lives. Our Gospel passage brings home this point. In the Lord’s Prayer, we are called first and foremost to focus on God, His Name, His Kingdom and His Will. After prioritizing God, then we can ask for our needs, our needs for sustenance, both material and spiritual, our need for forgiveness, our need for God’s deliverance from evil whenever our faithfulness is put to the test.

When we have the right priorities, that is, God first, then everything falls in place. May this season help us to seek the kingdom of God first and thereafter God in His own wisdom will add to our needs such as: our needs for sustenance, our material and spiritual needs, our need for forgiveness, and God’s deliverance from all evil.

May this season help us to listen effectively to God’s Word and teach us to prioritize God and to respond accordingly – always seeking His kingdom first.