Ash Wednesday

Yesterday was Mardi Gras … Fat Tuesday … the last day before Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent. When my grandmother was alive, it was a tradition in my family to celebrate “Fat Tuesday” with eating many paczki (I think the German equivalent was faschtnacht … doughnuts). I loved this family tradition and miss it. It’s a shame the recipe did not get handed down. I’m sure each of you could recite a tradition that is cherished by your families. Unfortunately, not all traditions are good for us. That is why Lent is so important for our Christian faith.

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Entrance Antiphon: Wis 11:24, 25, 27 — “You are merciful to all, O Lord, and despise nothing that You have made. You overlook people's sins, to bring them to repentance, and You spare them, for You are the Lord our God.”

First Reading: Jl 2:12-18 — “Rend your hearts, not your garments.”

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 51:3-4, 5-6ab, 12-13, 14 and 17 — “Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.”

Second Reading: 2 Cor 5:20 -- 6:2 — “Be reconciled to God. Behold, now is the acceptable time.”

Verse Before the Gospel: Ps 95:8 — "If today you hear His voice, harden not your hearts."

Gospel: Mt 6:1-6, 16-18 — “Your Father who sees in secret will repay you.”

Communion Antiphon: Ps 1:2-3 — “He who ponders the law of the Lord day and night will yield fruit in due season.”

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Today marks the occasion when the “ordinary” observances and way we do things are re-examined. The prophet Joel calls the whole community to this inward reflection. It is not enough for us to examine only ourselves, but we should also examine our place in the larger picture as members of the interdependent Catholic community.

I am thankful that Jesus clarified in Saint Matthew’s Gospel the best way to accomplish this. He starts with the do-nots … the outward expressions of faith on street corners are the most obvious examples. Jesus also calls us to pay attention to the more subtle behaviors that deviate from a more sincere faith practice. He charges us to “go to your inner room and close the door and pray to your Father in secret”

Jesus is welcoming us to an intimate relationship with God without external pretenses. The Prophet Joel says to “rend your hearts and not your garments.” In this inner room, Jesus teaches us to pray with our hearts. With a routine practice of this prayer, the ordinary signs of faith are done with greater reverence. Our fasting and almsgiving are done with an increase of charity. The words of our verbal prayers carry greater meaning.

Faith from the heart spills out into our actions. We become ambassadors of Christ stemming from faith in action. We will soon receive a cross of ashes on our foreheads. This is not a shallow façade of Christianity, but a visual commitment to living the Gospel as ambassadors by our words and actions. This sign might have told folks at the grocery store and the gas station that, for today at least, you are Christian ... that you’re Catholic … and even though it isn’t even a Holy Day ... maybe you wanted people to know. Perhaps in the past, when people saw you coming with crosses on foreheads, stores made a mental note that Easter is coming, and maybe they should stock up on jellybeans and marshmallow peeps!

Today, Ash Wednesday, is the beginning of our Lenten journey where we are challenged to live our Baptismal promises, to wear our faith on our sleeves (and foreheads), but first and foremost in our hearts.