# Seeking God in the Second Week of Lent
*2015-02-23*

> Bill Young reflects on the pain of cancer, shares a meditation from the prayer book “Seeking God,” and invites listeners to turn bold words into concrete acts of love during Lent.

## A Prayerful Beginning

Good morning, everyone. This is Bill Young, and today we’re recording episode 291 of the Catholic podcast *Prayer and Lunch*. It’s Tuesday of the second week of Lent, and we’ll be praying from the book *Seeking God: Meditations, Activities, and Prayers*.

## Prayer for Marilyn Gonzalez and All Who Suffer Cancer

Yesterday we learned that a family friend, Marilyn Gonzalez, died of breast cancer. Marilyn was a faithful woman who prayed the Rosary daily and opened her home to many. Let us pray for her soul and for all who are grieving her loss.

We also lift up John, a friend who is living with cancer, and every person battling this disease. May they find courage and the steady presence of God. We pray for the families who walk alongside their loved ones, for they share in the suffering. And we ask God to bring an end to this terrible illness.

Lord, hear our prayers for the victims of cancer, for their families, and for a world where this disease no longer claims lives.

## Meditation on Matthew 23:23

The opening meditation for today quotes Matthew 23:23: “Do not follow the example of the Pharisees. Their words are bold, but their deeds are few.” Those words make me cringe, because I often speak loudly about peace, justice, and the dignity of migrant workers, yet I have never taken the concrete steps—joining a protest, working in the fields, or standing with the poor—that would match my words.

Alice Walker, in *Anything We Love, We Can Be Saved*, warns against a false shame that paralyzes us when our actions seem insufficient. She reminds us that even small, honest offerings—like a single stone placed in a larger pile—contribute to building hope.

Today, let us examine what we truly believe and consider what “stone” we can add to God’s work of hope.

## A Simple Lenten Prayer

Gracious God, keep me from being crippled by shame over my inadequacies. Strengthen my heart so that my deeds may follow my words, especially in this season of Lent.

*Lent calls us to turn bold words into concrete acts of love, one small stone at a time.*