LENT - ASH WEDNESDAY

Joel. 2:12-18; 2 Cor. 5:20-6:2; Mt. 6:1-6, 16-18

 

little brother avi bala bitra                                                March 02, 2022

    Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the Season of Lent. It is a time of fasting, prayer, and penance which leads us through the forty days to Jesus’ resurrection. Symbolically the forty days remind us of Jesus spending forty days in the desert praying and fasting.

 By observing prayerfully the days of lent, the individual Christian imitates Jesus’ withdrawal into the wilderness for forty days and at the same time contemplating his suffering, death, and resurrection.  While sprinkling the ashes the priest or the deacon says “Remember, Man is dust, and unto dust, you shall return.” 

 Ashes are a symbol of penance made sacramental by the blessing of the Church, and they help us develop a spirit of humility and sacrifice.  Ashes were used in ancient times as a sign of mourning.  Dusting oneself with ashes was an expression of sorrow for one’s sins and faults.

 The liturgical practice of applying ashes on one’s forehead during the Lenten Season goes back as far as the eighth century. While the ashes symbolize penance and contrition, they are also a reminder that God is gracious and merciful to those who call on Him with repentant hearts.  They are signs that we are sinners and we are called to repentance.  It is an invitation to look into our hearts and make the ancient prayer our own:

“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.”

 It is a time for serious, disciplined self-examination, a time spent in intensive prayer and repentance before the cross of Calvary.

 Repentance is the theme of Lent and the liturgy reminds us of the words of the celebrant as he places ashes on the foreheads of the faithful:  “Turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel”.

 The readings today give us the same theme.  The first Reading taken from the Book of Prophet Joel, tells the people that they have to change and their hard and stubborn hearts must be transformed. They had to examine their most inner self and shun their evil ways.

 At the same time, the prophet strongly reminds them that the Lord God is gracious and merciful; slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. He will not punish his people if they are sincere and turn away from their sins. God is not a God of punishment but a God of love to those who strive earnestly to walk in His righteous ways.

 Being fully aware of his sin the psalmist cries with the words that raise a cry of hope to heaven:  O God, “create in me a clean heart and put a new and right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me”.

 In the Second Reading Paul appeals to the Corinthians to be reconciled to God wholeheartedly.  He tells them that God sent His only begotten Son, Jesus to die for the sake of humanity on the cross. He who was without sin took the place of human beings and was treated as a sinner so that all might become righteous in the eyes of God.

 Jesus through his death on the cross has helped us to secure our salvation. Now is the time for his chosen people to show their appreciation to the Lord God by walking in His righteousness so that they may inherit the salvation which He is granting through His infinite love and mercy.

 Through the Gospel Jesus says that one’s devotion and piety must manifest an intimate and personal relationship with God, like the relationship between the father and the son. One must experience a transformation of his/her entire being to be transformed into a child of God. In other words, the disciple has to bear witness to Christ through his life and action.

 Jesus gives us especially on this day the three traditional pillars of Lenten observance namely, prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.  They are three great Christian duties-the three foundations of the law, and by them a Christian does homage and service to God with the three principal interests:

by prayer with our souls,

by fasting with our bodies,

by alms-giving with our companions and fellow human beings. 

 

Here, Jesus speaks about the need for prayer. Our prayer is our personal relationship with God.  It is the raising of our heart and mind to God and builds our personal bond with him.  It is through prayer that we develop a closer, more intimate relationship with God.

 Fasting is more than a means of developing self-control. It is often an aid to prayer, as the pangs of hunger remind us of our hunger for God. Fasting can help us realize the suffering that so many people in our world experience every day, and it should lead us to greater efforts to alleviate that suffering. 

 Almsgiving is simply a response by us to God, a response that we have come to through prayer and fasting. It is an expression of our gratitude for all that God has given and a realization that in the Body of Christ, it is never just “me and God.”  It is a sign of our care for those in need and an expression of our gratitude for things God has given to us.  Jesus calls us to do all acts of Charity privately and then forget about it.

 This season of Lent is a time of special grace for us and the church calls this season a joyful time because it is our preparation for the future joy of Easter that approaches us bringing his blessings, mercy, and forgiveness.

 To practice sincere repentance, the Lord God tells us to change our hearts. We are called to examine our most inner self, those evil ways that we have to let go, once and for always.

 

May we have a fruitful season of Lent.

May God bless all of us, Amen.

- @Avinash Bitra OFM Cap.