Ash Wednesday (Fr. Vinner)
It Is Not An Easy Road, But Jesus Walks With Us
My brothers and sisters in Christ,
Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the Lenten season of the Church’s Liturgical Year. According to the Church’s teaching, the weekdays of Lent from Ash Wednesday to the Saturday before Palm Sunday take precedence over the memorial of the saints.
Lent is not just a period of “fulfilling an obligation imposed on us by the church,” during this period of the year. Rather, it marks the beginning of an important part of our salvific history. It is truly a season of re-living or re-enacting the entire Paschal Mystery of Christ.
Hence, today’s readings remind us of the importance of this season of Lent which begins with our celebration of Ash Wednesday. The prophet Joel calls us to repentance through: “Fasting, mourning and weeping.” While Paul calls this season: “A moment of grace, a favorable time, and of course, the day of salvation.” Hence he admonished us to make use of this season in order to reconcile ourselves with both men and God. Like our first reading, the gospel reminds of the most important virtues of this season: “almsgiving, prayer and fasting.” Not only did it highlight these virtues, it also reminds us that our Lenten observance must be carried out with humility.
According to Old Testament practices, wearing ash is a sign of shame, defeat and most importantly, a sign of repentance. For us Christians, it means more than these. It also marks an important point in our history of salvation. Though, the ash we are going to receive today is a symbol of death, but it strengthens our hope of rising with Christ. Hence, Timothy reminds us that: “If we die with Christ, we will also rise with him” (2Tim.2, 11).
Today, we shall freely receive the ash made from the palms of the last Palm Sunday. This ash is a symbol of penance made sacramental by the blessings of the Church. It is a symbol of our voluntary decision and willingness to walk and suffer with Christ this season. It also reminds us that life passes away on Earth. Hence, we are reminded of this fact through these words: “Remember, Man is dust, and unto dust you shall return.”
The lantern season does not end with Ash Wednesday as many of us think. This is because many will simply receive the ash today and disappear. No, this is not the right way to observe this season. The Lenten season is best observed by attending liturgical functions like Stations of the Cross and retreats.
It also involves taking good advantage of the sacraments especially, the sacraments of reconciliation, visiting the Blessed Sacrament, and going on pilgrimages. It involves moments of deep reflections on the mystery of our salvation. It is a period of reconciliation, fasting, prayer and almsgiving as our readings remind us today. Of course, we must not forget that this is season provides us a great opportunity to carry out both spiritual and corporal works of mercy.
Pope Francis’ Ash Wednesday message summarized (March 2017): Lent, the Holy Father reminded, is the time for saying no. “No to the spiritual asphyxia born of the pollution caused by indifference, by thinking that other people’s lives are not my concern, and by every attempt to trivialize life, especially the lives of those whose flesh is burdened by so much superficiality. Lent means saying no to the toxic pollution of empty and meaningless words, of harsh and hasty criticism, of simplistic analyses that fail to grasp the complexity of problems, especially the problems of those who suffer the most. “Lent is the time to say no to the asphyxia of a prayer that soothes our conscience, of an almsgiving that leaves us self-satisfied, of a fasting that makes us feel good. Lent is the time to say no to the asphyxia born of relationships that exclude, that try to find God while avoiding the wounds of Christ present in the wounds of his brothers and sisters: in a word, all those forms of spirituality that reduce the faith to a ghetto culture, a culture of exclusion.” Time to Remember:
Lent, he added, is a time for remembering, and asking ourselves what we would be if God had closed his doors to us. “What would we be without his mercy that never tires of forgiving us and always gives us the chance to begin anew? “It is a time to set aside everything that isolates us, encloses us and paralyzes us.” Pope Francis concluded, noting, “Lent is a time of compassion”
Finally, it is important to say that this season we need a lot of discipline, courage, perseverance, faith and tranquility of mind in order to triumph. So with the psalmist, let us implore the Lord this season: “Have mercy on us, O Lord, for we have sinned.”
May God Bless us.
FR. S.Vinner HGN