Fr Paul reads from the Gospel of Matthew (5:20-26) in which Jesus says to His disciples that if their virtue does not go any deeper than the scribes or the Pharisees, then they will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven. Fr Paul says in this Gospel, Jesus talks about the scribes and the Pharisees and just how stuck they are on observing the old testament and the law very rigidly. Jesus is about to give six ways in which a person can be righteous or right in the eyes of God.The first and the last of these six ways Jesus talks about is through love and the practice of love. How we can fully love God and our neighbour and when we speak of love the contrast or opposite is hostility or anger as we hear in the Gospel. We are being taught that if there is hostility or anger between us then it creates such a painful wound in the body of Christ that it rules out offering sacrifice or prayer.Fr Paul says, as the Gospel challenges us we must first seek reconciliation with others before we pray or offer sacrifice. When we think on this teaching, Fr Paul says that his mind automatically goes to that little practice that we do prior to receiving communion at each of our masses. As reflected in the picture in Fr Paul’s video reflection today, pre COVID and even now, before we receive communion we’re invited to turn to those around us and offer or wish them a sign of peace.This directly relates to this Gospel. To be at peace with each other before we receive the Lord in the Eucharist.As our Lenten Journey continues, Fr Paul invites us for our reflection today to ask ourselves these questions:Is there someone in my life that I need to reconcile with?Is there someone in my life that I need to be at peace with, before we celebrate Easter this year?