The Call That Restores and Reforms

Voice over by Eliz

Isa 58:9b-14, Psalm: 85, Lk 5:27-32

St. Peter Damian, Bishop and Doctor of the Church

My dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

The season of Lent calls us to authentic conversion—not a superficial change of habits, but a deep reorientation of our hearts toward God and neighbor. Today, the Word of God, on this Memorial of Saint Peter Damian—a fierce reformer and Doctor of the Church—reveals the true shape of this conversion. It is a call that restores our own dignity and compels us to extend God’s merciful embrace to others.

The prophet Isaiah continues to describe the fruits of a fast that pleases God. When we remove oppression, false accusation, and malicious speech, when we bestow our bread on the hungry and satisfy the afflicted, “then light shall rise for you in the darkness.” God promises to guide us, strengthen us, and make us like “a spring whose water never fails.” He calls us to honor the Sabbath not merely by avoiding work, but by delighting in the Lord. This is a vision of holistic restoration: personal integrity, social justice, and joyful worship flowing from a heart healed by obedience.

This divine work of restoration is perfectly embodied in the Gospel. Jesus sees Levi, a tax collector—a man whose profession made him both wealthy and despised, a collaborator with Rome and a sinner in the eyes of his people. Jesus does not merely offer him a kind word; He issues a life-altering command: “Follow me.” Levi leaves everything and follows. Then, he holds a great feast for Jesus, attended by many tax collectors and sinners. The Pharisees grumble, but Jesus declares His mission: “Those who are healthy do not need a physician, but the sick do. I have not come to call the righteous to repentance but sinners.” Jesus restores Levi by calling him to discipleship and celebrates with those society had discarded.

Saint Peter Damian, an 11th-century monk and cardinal, lived at this intersection of personal reform and merciful outreach. He fought passionately against corruption and laxity in the Church (the need for internal restoration, like Isaiah’s call), while also composing profound prayers that revealed a heart deeply tender toward the mercy of Christ (the call to sinners, like Levi). He understood that the Church must continually be reformed so she can more faithfully offer Christ’s healing to a wounded world.

For us, the message is twofold. First, we must allow Christ to call us from our own “tax booths”—the places of compromise, sin, or isolation—to the freedom of following Him. This is the personal restoration Isaiah promises.

Second, we must examine our hearts for the Pharisee’s grumble. Do we look with suspicion or disdain upon those we deem “sinners,” those on the margins of respectability? Lent calls us to repent of this, too, and to share in Christ’s mission by inviting others to the feast of mercy.

Pope Francis echoes this Gospel constantly: “The Church must be a field hospital.” We are called to be physicians of souls, offering the medicine of mercy, not judges keeping score.

This Lent, let us fast from judgment and feast on compassion. Let us be restored by Christ’s call, and become agents of that same restoring call for others. For in this twofold movement—inward conversion and outward mercy—we truly prepare for the joy of Easter. Amen.

May God bless you all!