Lent 2026 #2: Our Words Have the Power of Life and Death

 As I continue my daily meditation on the Scripture readings, the words of the readings today speak of the power of God's words. While the words we speak may fail or we may not live up to our promises, God's words always bring about what He promises. He means what He says, and His words have the power to enact what they say they will accomplish. Some brief excerpts from today:

"so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and succeed in the thing for which I sent it." - Isaiah 55: 11 NRSVCE

"When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears, and rescues them from all their troubles. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted, and saves the crushed in spirit." Psalm 34:17-18 NRSVCE

Interestingly, when I reached the gospel reading for today, He began to address our own words. Jesus teaches us how to pray, not babbling as did the pagans, but saying "Our Father, who art in heaven..." He ends with an exhortation about forgiveness, "For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; but if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." (Matthew 6:9, 14-15 NRSVCE)

God's words are very powerful, so powerful that they brought everything we see into existence and they sustain all things. His words are also so delicate as to sense every little shift within us, to sense every little unspoken and seemingly unseen desire. He knows everything about us. He is our provider of every little thing we need, and His words are powerful enough to enact those provisions. In today's readings, He loves us by providing through His words.

Yet, He doesn't stop there. Next, He gives us the opportunity to mean what we say as well, with a caution from a recent morning reading that we will receive what we speak and decide. We are each given a free will and the power of speech. With His help, we can learn to love as He does with the power of our words. It is a power that comes from Him, but we have the free will to work with Him in how we use that power, or to try to do things our own way with less satisfactory results.

As the Scripture explains, "He has placed before you fire and water; stretch out your hand for whichever you choose. Before each person are life and death, and whichever one chooses will be given." (Sirach 15:16-17 NRSVCE - see footnote if you are unfamiliar with Sirach). 

How will we choose to love God and others today through our own words? 

Peace be with you.

Note about the book of Sirach: For those who are not Catholic and may be unfamiliar with Sirach, it is one of the seven Deuterocanonical books of the Old Testament that have been removed from some current Bibles of Protestant denominations today. For more information, there is an article written by Catholic Answers. It is written in the tone and purpose of apologetics, so if you choose to read it, please keep that in mind, but I think it answers some commonly asked questions in a concise way, from a Catholic perspective.

Photo Credit: Roland Larsson, Stocksnap.io

Scripture Credits:

Isaiah 55:10-11

New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah%2055%3A10-11&version=NRSVCE. Accessed 24 February. 2026.

Psalm 34:

New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2034&version=NRSVCE. Accessed 24 February. 2026.

Matthew 6:7-15:

New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%206%3A7-15&version=NRSVCE. Accessed 24 February. 2026.

Sirach 15:

New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Sirach%2015&version=NRSVCE. Accessed 24 February. 2026.