14 March 2023
Tuesday of the Third Week of Lent
There was a prayer in the Old Testament: “O Lord, do not deliver us up forever, or make void your covenant” (Daniel 3:34). Does this remain a valid prayer, even in the New Testament? Knowing, as we do, the revelation of Jesus Christ that has been handed down faithfully by the apostles and their successors, ought we be to be concerned that God might deliver us up forever? Should we be asking him not to make void his covenant?
The answer of the Catholic Church to this question is clear. The Old Testament, in its entirety, remains within the Christian canon of sacred scripture. It has been divinely revealed by God, and is useful even until now. That is why this prayer from the Old Testament book of Daniel is being read this very day in Catholic churches around the world during the first reading at mass. That is why this prayer is repeated monthly by priests, monks and nuns who pray the Liturgy of the Hours. “O Lord, do not deliver us up forever, or make void your covenant.”
But there are some who deny the Old Testament while affirming the New Testament only. For example, the Marcionites. They claimed that the Old Testament was chaotic and harmful and ought to be rejected. This sect acquired great influence in Rome before, eventually, it was officially condemned by the Catholic Church. Let us avoid this error by adopting this prayer today: “O Lord, do not deliver us up forever, or make void your covenant.” Let us beseech the Lord for mercy. Let us keep ourselves in the love of God and wait for the mercy of our Lord, Jesus Christ, unto eternal life.