When we hear the word "law," many of us think first of rules and restrictions. We picture something heavy. But this Lenten season, the Church invites us to look again. The law of God was never meant to be a burden. It was given as a path — a way of staying close to God and to one another.
God gave the commandments to the people of Israel not to make life difficult, but to guide them. As the prophet Jeremiah tells us, God said to his people: "Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people" (Jer 7:23). These are the words of a relationship, not a courtroom. St. Thomas Aquinas understood this well. He called God's law "eternal wisdom" — God sharing his understanding with us so that we may live well. In our own families, we know something of this. The guidance we give to our children is not given to limit them. It is given out of love, to protect them and help them grow.
Jesus did not come to set the law aside. He came to show us its full meaning. After the Beatitudes, he tells his disciples plainly that he has not come to abolish the law or the prophets, but to bring them to completion. Every small act of faithfulness matters. Not because God watches for our failures, but because each honest and loving choice draws us a little closer to him. Jesus shows us a God who is not distant but near — found in the ordinary moments of daily life, in patience, in honesty, and in care for those around us.
Lent is a season for honesty. We look at ourselves and admit that we have not always been faithful — not to God, and not to those closest to us. In our families, we know this. We speak unkind words. We are slow to forgive. We choose our own comfort over the needs of others. This is the weakness that Lent asks us to face with courage and without excuses. The Book of Proverbs reminds us: "Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you; love her, and she will watch over you" (Prov 4:6). This season, let us return to simple faithfulness. Pray together. Listen more. Ask for forgiveness and give it freely.
The face of God is found in all people, and it begins in our own homes — in the face of a spouse, a parent, a child, a sibling. When we follow God's law in small things, we are already close to him. May this Lenten season bring our families a quiet and real renewal. May God give us the grace to walk in his ways with faithfulness, and to teach one another, by the way we live, that his law is not a burden but a blessing.
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"Walk in all the way that I command you, that it may be well with you."
— Jeremiah 7:23