Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today is Ash Wednesday, the very first day of the penitential season of Lent, the forty days plus period of spiritual renewal and reorientation of our lives, so that we may prepare ourselves well for the upcoming important celebrations and events during the Holy Week and Paschal Triduum towards the glorious season of Easter. During this time and period of Lent, all of us as Christians commit ourselves to a renewal of our lives and reattune ourselves to the Lord. We remind ourselves that as God’s holy and beloved people, each and every one of us ought to live our lives worthily and devote ourselves to His ways, distancing ourselves from all the corruptions of evil and sin, from the various temptations of the world around us so that we may truly be faithful disciples and followers, worthy of the Lord, our most loving God and Father.
Today we recall our weakness and mortal nature, as sinful men and women, who because of our disobedience and sins against God, had been sundered from the fullness of God’s love and grace. This is why the blessed ashes imposed on us is a reminder of this fallen state and our mortality, with the words of the priest imposing the ashes, ‘Remember man, that you are dust, and to dust you shall return’, linking to the fact that God crafted and made us all from the dust of the earth, and when we die, our bodies shall rot and perish, returning back to the earth where it came from. No matter how great or glorious our background or life may be, in the end, all of us will have to face death and the end of our earthly existence. But with God there is an everlasting life and existence beyond this life we have in this world.
Alternatively the priest would also have said as he imposed the ashes, ‘Repent, and believe in the Gospel’, which again highlights the penitential nature of this time and season. On this Ash Wednesday, all of us are required to fast and abstain from meat, in which these practices are meant for us to restrain our physical bodies and desires, our worldly wants and pursuits, and reminding us all to purify ourselves, our bodies, minds, hearts and our whole being so that through this repentance and purification of our beings, we may truly be worthy once again, through God’s grace and forgiveness, to be His holy and beloved people, filled with the fullness of His grace and love. We are all required to fast today, eating just one main meal and two smaller meals called collations, and the aforementioned abstinence to remind us of the futility of worldly glory and desires, and to focus ourselves to the Lord once again.
In our first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Joel, we heard of the words of the Lord spoken through this prophet calling on all the people of God to return to their Lord and Master with repentance and sincere desire to turn themselves towards His mercy and forgiveness. The prophet Joel was sent by God to minister to the people of the southern kingdom of Judah, the southern half of the kingdom of God’s people, to remind them all of the Lord’s Law and commandments, calling upon all of them to restore the faithful practices of their ancestors and for them to turn away from their sins and wickedness. At that time, the kingdom of Judah and the people of God had fallen far away from the path of the Lord, disobeying and disregarding the commandments which God had taught to them and their ancestors and requiring them to follow and obey. And as a result, they had been beset by troubles, difficulties and persecution from their enemies.
But the prophet Joel highlighted how God is truly loving and merciful, and all of us ought to come to Him seeking His mercy and forgiveness, as He forgives those who sincerely seeks Him and wants to be forgiven. Through our repentance, our fasting and abstinence done with the right intentions and desire for us to be rid of our impure and corrupt thoughts, desires and other temptations, we shall gain the grace of God, the generous love and compassionate mercy that our loving Father has always had for us. Nonetheless, this is as always, easier said than done, as despite our best intentions, there will always likely be temptations and other things which may hinder us on our path and journey towards God, and it is during this time of Lent that we should do our best to reorientate our lives towards the Lord and be more aware of the dangers of sin and the temptations around us.
In our second reading today, taken from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Church and the faithful in the city and region of Corinth, the Apostle reminded all the faithful there of the great grace and mercy which God has shown to all of them, the beloved people of God, and how they all should seek the compassionate love and mercy from God because this very moment is indeed the favourable time to seek God’s mercy and forgiveness. What St. Paul told to the faithful among the Corinthians is also a reminder for all of us that we should not procrastinate or delay in our efforts to seek the Lord, as some among us may delay in doing so because we think that we still have ample amount of time in our lives to be forgiven from our many sins and wickedness.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, we must be reminded again of the reality of our mortality and the fact how any one of us can be called to account for our lives before the Lord at any moment. No one knows for certain when we will meet the end of our lives, beside the certainty that we will indeed face death in the end of our earthly life and existence, be it that we have a long or short life. All of us are mortals who will not endure and exist forever in this world, and hence, we should make good use of all the opportunities and means that the Lord has generously given to us, to seek Him and His ever generous love and kindness. We must not wait until it is too late, when all of our means to reach God has been exhausted, and we can no longer attain His forgiveness. Let us all be quick to seek to repent from our sins, and receive regularly the forgiveness from God through the Sacrament of Reconciliation in the Church.
Then from our Gospel passage today taken from the Gospel according to St. Matthew the Apostle, we are reminded of the matter of practices of our faith and things related to what we do during this time and season of Lent such as fasting and abstinence, prayers and almsgiving among others. As the Lord made it clear to His disciples and all those gathered to listen to Him, when we fast, abstain, make our prayers and do other things that we often do during this time of Lent, we must not make a show out of it. We also should not do these actions in order to be praised and adored by others around us. Instead, we should do them because we are truly and sincerely repentant over our many sins and wickedness, realising the depth of our unworthiness and iniquities before God.
As we receive the blessed ashes on our heads and foreheads, we are all reminded of the need for repentance and renewal in our lives, as we are called to embrace God’s rich and merciful love, making use of the chances that had been provided to us to turn once again towards God, and as His children, full of love for our Father, let us all beseech Him for His mercy and kindness, knowing that in Him alone we can find true forgiveness and peace, salvation and eternal life, and if we are willing to commit ourselves to the path that God our Father has shown us, then God will surely forgive us our sins and allow us to be reconciled with Him. And hence, as we symbolically wear the ashes on our heads and foreheads, we are reminded of this sinfulness that is in us, and of the commitment required from us to abandon these sins for the righteousness of God.
The Gospel passage also reminds us all of the three important pillars of our Lenten practices in order to prepare us all well for the upcoming celebrations of Holy Week and Easter. These as mentioned earlier on are fasting and abstinence, as well as prayer, and lastly being almsgiving. Each one of these practices were meant to help direct our focus and attention towards the Lord, and through them hopefully we may be ever more restrained in our greed, desires and ego in life, and become more attuned to the Lord and His path. We should not do these just in order to satisfy Church requirements and laws, or do them for the sake of doing them. We should also appreciate and understand the significance and importance of each one of these practices so that we may benefit most wonderfully from each one of them in bringing ourselves ever closer to God this Lent and beyond.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, let our fasting, abstinence, prayers and almsgiving be truly centred on God, and may they help us to continue to grow in faith and dedication to the Lord, and remind us all of our own frailty, mortality and also our sinfulness so that we may truly be humble in life, in desiring and seeking healing and forgiveness from God. Let us all come towards our merciful and ever loving Father and Creator, our Lord and Master with contrite hearts, asking Him to heal us from our afflictions and corruption by sin, and help us all to enter into His glorious inheritance, to bring us all into the eternal life and true happiness that He has promised us, through our genuine reconciliation and reunion with Him. May all of us have a truly blessed and fruitful season of Lent, and be blessed by God in our every good works, efforts and endeavours this Lent. Amen.
petercanisiusmichaeldavidkang 