“WARM WITH GOD’S LOVE”
Lenten Reflections
14th February 2018.
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ASH WEDNESDAY (DAY OF FASTING AND ABSTINENCE)
Reading 1:Joel 2: 2-18 Prophet Joel outlines a positive program for a sincere and honest return to God for those who have forsaken him: “Return to me with your whole heart . . .
Res. Psalm: Ps 51:3-17 “Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned”.
Reading 2:2 Cor 5:20 – 6:2 “Now is the acceptable time! Now is the day of salvation.”This is a perfect description of what Lent can and ought to be for each and all Christians - and the Church as well.
Gospel: Mt 6: 1-6, 16-18 Jesus lists the traditional Lenten practices - prayer, fasting, almsgiving - and he insists that these can benefit us only if motivated by love of God rather than the desire for reward or any kind of human acclaim.
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FROM ASHES TO GLORY!
On Ash Wednesday, we begin the graceful season of Lent. The ashes were once palm branches, which waved gloriously on Palm Sunday, receiving the coming of the Lord, loudly proclaiming “Hosanna!” with joy and belief as Jesus rode into the city of Jerusalem. But now they are a symbol, repeating our continuing unfaithfulness, and our steadfast intent to turn toward the cross and our baptism once again. There marking on our foreheads reconnect us to the death, the cross, and suffering of our Lord Jesus and invites us to acknowledge the sin, evil, and injustice in us and our collusion with it in the world. It gives us hope to undo our lives, to repair the world and restore the reign of God on earth, here and now.
In the first reading, the invitation to conversion is formulated with these words: “Return to the Lord with all your heart” (Jl 2:12). For Joel, conversion is a way to go backward. Those who have put themselves on bad trails are invited to come back. In the second reading, Paul speaks of reconciliation. He says: “Let God reconcile you!” Reconciliation with God is not achieved through purification rites and ascetic practices, but through adherence to the message that is transmitted by God’s ambassadors—the heralds of His word (Rom 10:14, 17).
In the Gospel passage, Jesus stresses seven times the reward reserved for those who act according to his teachings. The Gospel often mentions the “prize” reserved for the righteous, and also the “punishment” for the wicked. The reward, which Jesus refers to, is not a better place and the highest in heaven, but the increased capacity to love, the most intimate union, the sharpest resemblance to the face of the Father. The “prize” is the joy to love gratuitously, as God does; it is that sense of belonging to his “kingdom.”
To progress in this maturation, at the beginning of Lent, Jesus proposes three ascetic practices: almsgiving, prayer, and fasting. They formed the pillars of the Jewish spirituality and he presents them again in a new perspective, his own.
Almsgiving: At the time of Jesus, some people were responsible for collecting and distributing aid for the poor, orphans, widows and the wayfarers. During the Sabbath, there was the habit of publicly praising those who had been generous and were felicitated in the assembly. For Jesus, almsgiving is not to drop a few coins, but to restore justice, to recognize that the goods of this world do not belong to man but to God. Whoever has taken more must return them to those who have less. St. Ambrose, said to the rich: “Remember that you do not give what is yours to the poor; you only give back what is due to them.”
Prayer: At the time of Jesus, there were two forms of prayer: one public and one private. Public prayer was made in the Temple, in the synagogues and in the streets, twice a day. Jesus does not condemn this practice. Then he focuses on the other form of prayer, private prayer, the one made in one’s own room, behind closed doors, in intimacy with the Father “who sees in secret.” This prayer is not a repetition of formulas, rather a dialogue with God, not to convince him to do our will and to fulfill our dreams, but to internalize his designs and to receive from him the task assigned to us in the building of his kingdom. Prayer is first of all listening, openness of heart to welcome God’s plans and not to disappoint his expectations.
Fasting: In Jesus’ time, it was believed that fasting was highly meritorious. It served to amend sins, to move the Lord with pity, to avert his punishments, to ward off calamities. The Christian’s fast does not want his/her sacrifice to be noticed. They wash their face and look cheerful, for he is happy because, with his renouncement, he has the joy of seeing the poor enjoying the relief given. The acceptable fast to God is “breaking the fetters of injustice…Fast by sharing your bread with the hungry, bring to your house the homeless, clothe the one you see naked” (Is 58:6-7). “Be kind and merciful to each other…do not plot evil in your heart against one another” (Zec 7:5-10).
On the first day of Lent we are reminded that Lent begins with ashes and ends with the fire, the paschal fire of the resurrection and the fire of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, the assurance of what we shall be. Christ has soaked our existence which is dust and ashes in his blood, and enables us to rise to new life. The Holy Spirit will make us a new creation!
Prayer: Lord, may this Lent be truly fruitful in my life. May it be a grace and a joy to embrace all that You wish to bestow upon me. Jesus, I trust in You. Amen
Lenten Act: Lent is a time to hold still and let God act to wash away your sins (Ps 51:2).
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