Day 5 of Lent: “When Did We See You?” – The Hidden Christ in Our Daily Choices.
On this Monday of the First Week of Lent, the Church places before us the call: “Be holy, for I, the Lord your God, am holy” (Lev 19:2). But God doesn’t leave us wondering what holiness looks like. He spells it out plainly in today’s Gospel (Mt 25:31-46): feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, welcoming the stranger, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and imprisoned.
Jesus doesn’t say, “When you read the Holy Bible every day” or “When you prayed perfect prayers.” He says:“Whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.”
Lent is not just about giving up chocolate or scrolling less, but about giving ourselves away completely—through acts of love, mercy, and traditional sacrifices like abstaining from meat on Fridays (or, in our Melkite Byzantine Catholic Church in the Holy Land, embracing the fuller ancient discipline of abstaining from meat, dairy, and eggs throughout the whole of Great Lent, as the devout have long practiced to draw closer to Christ).
Holiness isn’t a feeling; it’s action. It’s choosing mercy when it’s inconvenient. It’s seeing the face of Jesus in the tired cashier, the lonely neighbor, the refugee at the border, the family member who hurts us, the unborn child, the addict on the street.
We often ask: “Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You?”
Jesus answers: Right now. In the person right in front of you.Today, pause and ask yourself:
- Who is the “least” one God has placed in my path this week?
- Where am I ignoring the hungry, the stranger, the imprisoned (even if “imprisoned” means trapped in loneliness or addiction)?
- How can I perform one concrete Work of Mercy today—no matter how small?
Lent is 40 days to train our eyes to see Christ where the world sees only “the least.” When we do, everything changes.
Our small acts become eternal. Our hearts become holy.
Prayer for Day 5
Lord Jesus, hidden in the least of my brothers and sisters,
open my eyes to see You today.
Give me the courage to love not in words only, but in deeds.
Help me feed, clothe, visit,
and welcome as if I were doing it to You—
because I am.
Make me holy as You are holy, through humble, hidden service.
Mary, Mother of Mercy, pray for us.
Amen.
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