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Esther 12: 14-16, 23-25
Queen Esther, seized with mortal anguish,
had recourse to the LORD.
She lay prostrate upon the ground, together with her handmaids,
from morning until evening, and said:
“God of Abraham, God of Isaac, and God of Jacob, blessed are you.
Help me, who am alone and have no help but you,
for I am taking my life in my hand.
As a child I used to hear from the books of my forefathers
that you, O LORD, always free those who are pleasing to you.
Now help me, who am alone and have no one but you,
O LORD, my God.
“And now, come to help me, an orphan.
Put in my mouth persuasive words in the presence of the lion
and turn his heart to hatred for our enemy,
so that he and those who are in league with him may perish.
Save us from the hand of our enemies;
turn our mourning into gladness
and our sorrows into wholeness.”
The Word of the Lord.
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This is one of the few times we read about the heroic story of Queen Esther, who is paralyzed by fear, in our first reading.
She’s a Jew who’s married to a foreign king, but the king doesn’t know her real identity.
One day while in his court, Esther overhears a plan to exterminate her people.
If she reveals her Jewish identity, then she, too, may be killed. But if she remains silent, then thousands will be slaughtered.
What is she to do?
What would you do?
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In her darkest hour, she prays, “Help me, who am alone and have no one but you, O LORD, my God.”
“Help me.”
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By the end of the story, Esther finds the courage to speak the truth, revealing her identity, pleading with the king to save her people.
Amazingly, he relents, and the Jews are saved.
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In a sense, this is what Lent is all about: sharing our heart with God, who offers us the strength we need to do what is right, which can sometimes be difficult.
For some of us, that involves the sensitive work of healing a wounded heart; forgiving an enemy; or arresting control over a particular temptation.
But Esther reminds us that prayer is powerful. It changes things.
As Jesus reiterates in today’s Gospel, “Ask. Seek. Find. The door shall be opened to you.”
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Image credits: (1) America Magazine (2) Queen Esther Art Print, Hugues Merle, Fine Art America (3) MNnews.today