Ash Wednesday

“To call the righteous to repentance but sinners.” | Saturday after Ash Wednesday

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Lk 5:27-32)

The Pharisees and their scribes complained to his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” Jesus said to them in reply, “Those who are healthy do not need a physician, but the sick do. I have not come to call the righteous to repentance but sinners.”

After Jesus calls him, Matthew immediately leaves his customs post and follows him. Matthew then gives a large banquet at his house, where many tax collectors gather at table with Jesus and Matthew. The criticism of the Pharisees is aimed at sinners and tax collectors. While Jesus, the divine physician, tells the Pharisees that he has come for the sick, the Pharisees fail to recognize that he includes them among the sick who need a physician. Little is different today when judgment of others comes into play. It’s easy to point out the faults of others, but only with fearless examination do our own deficiencies surface.

God, just as Jesus your Son called Levi to follow him, you call me also to follow you. If all I can remember throughout the day is the voice of Jesus saying “Follow me,” I have the hope of walking in your truth and trusting in your mercy. On paper, this is all too easy. I know I will forget you time after time in the events of the day and the people you place before me. Give me the grace to hear your voice today when I begin to turn away. I know you always hear me, just as you reveal to Isaiah in the first reading: “Then light shall rise for you in the darkness, and the gloom shall become for you like midday.”

From the responsorial psalm: “Have mercy on me, O Lord, for to you I call all the day. Gladden the soul of your servant, for to you, O Lord, I lift up my soul. Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth.”

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

“And then they will fast.” | Friday after Ash Wednesday

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 9:14-15)

The disciples of John approached Jesus and said, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast much, but your disciples do not fast?” Jesus answered them, “Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.”

In today’s Gospel, Jesus teaches the meaning of fasting. In fulfilling the Old Testament prophecies and practices, the coming of Jesus represents the beginning of a new era. A common practice in the Jewish tradition, fasting was a way to show repentance and preparation for the coming of the Messiah. Jesus, the Bridegroom, is present among his disciples, so the time to fast hadn’t yet come. However, the time would come for fasting, for his passion, death, and resurrection. “The days will come,” Jesus says, “when the bridegroom is taken away . . . and then they will fast.” The Lord reveals to Isaiah in the first reading what fasting is: “Sharing your bread with the hungry, sheltering the oppressed and the homeless; clothing the naked when you see them, and not turning your back on your own.”

God, help me understand the meaning of fasting as Jesus teaches it. Among the disciples, Jesus was a source of joy and consolation. The Messiah had come and was among them. In the time of his passion, the disciples mourned his loss. But now, after the time of his suffering and death, Jesus is present in his word, through his resurrection, and in the sacraments of the Church. Give me the grace, Lord, to fast during Lent in a way that strengthens my love for your presence. In detachment and self-denial, nourish me now with your presence, and prepare me for your resurrection in the Easter joy that is to come.

From the responsorial psalm: “Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness; in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense. Thoroughly wash me from my guilt and of my sin cleanse me. A heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.”

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

“What profit is there for one to gain the whole world.” | Thursday after Ash Wednesday

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Lk 9:22-25)

Then [Jesus] said to all, “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. What profit is there for one to gain the whole world yet lose or forfeit himself?”

In today’s Gospel according to Luke, the transfiguration of Jesus occurs immediately after this passage. So in speaking of the daily task of Christians, Jesus refers also to his own passion, death, and resurrection. Jesus first announces to the disciples his suffering, death, and resurrection and then turns to speak to all of denying oneself and picking up one’s cross. In the paradox of dying to self to live in Christ, Jesus is the template; he goes first for the sake of all of us. To follow Jesus is to choose life, to heed God’s voice, to be obedient to the Father’s will. As Moses said to the Israelites: “Choose life, then, that you and your descendants may live, by loving the LORD, your God, heeding his voice, and holding fast to him.”

God, help me today to choose your will out of love for you. In that love, give me strength in choosing to deny myself to live in Christ. Keep me alert to the needs of others, aware of my imperfections that prevent me from seeing you present in that moment. Give me the grace, Lord, to recognize your will, to be fully aware of it, and to choose to accomplish it. Be my constant help!

From the responsorial psalm: “Blessed are they who hope in the Lord. He is like a tree planted near running water, that yields its fruit in due season, and whose leaves never fade. Whatever he does, prospers.”

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

“When you fast, do not look gloomy.” | Ash Wednesday

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 6:1-6, 16-18)

“When you give alms, do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets to win the praise of others. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right is doing, so that your almsgiving may be secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.”

“Even now, says the LORD, return to me with your whole heart.” These words from the first reading invite the people of Israel to fasting and prayer as a way to return to the LORD. In the Gospel, Jesus speaks to the disciples about what we have come to know as the three pillars of Lent: prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. With your whole attention focused on our Father, Jesus tells us, pray, fast, and give alms without drawing attention to yourselves so that “your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you.” The desire to please God in a genuine way becomes the means to return to an intimate relationship with him. So Lent begins. As Saint Paul says, Behold, now is a very acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.”

God, help me today consider how to put into practice prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Every year Lent comes, and I find myself in the midst of it without fully participating in the opportunity to connect more deeply with you. The interior life of the spirit that Jesus calls the disciples to is a universal invitation to see you as my Father and do what pleases you. A spiritual return to you doesn’t isolate me from those around me but reinvigorates how I respond to them—the poor, those in need of prayer, and emptying of self through fasting. Give me the grace to take the gifts of sacrifice you give me and make them the means of returning to you with my whole heart.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Thursday after Ash Wednesday

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke

Jesus said to his disciples: “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. What profit is there for one to gain the whole world yet lose or forfeit himself?”

In today’s Gospel, Jesus presents his disciples with a paradox—a seemingly contradictory teaching that describes a spiritual truth: to lose your life in following Christ is to save it. Another paradox: to deny yourself in taking up your cross is to find in Christ your true identity. Doing this daily can feel like driving on the wrong side of the street to reach a destination; it’s counterintuitive. What can I do today to drop a seemingly vital action for the sake of taking up my cross? And in taking up my cross daily, I have the hope of gaining new life in Christ. Do I hold that truth in my heart?

God, in recognizing that I easily become discouraged when clinging to my own ways, I want to understand how self-denial leads me on a path toward following you. What am I clutching in fear that would seem to spell disaster when letting go of it? If there is not one big thing I can think of, please give me the grace to identify something I can forgo that instinct seems to say is vital. God, let me desire not to gain a greater share of the world today but to lose that share for the sake of saving my life through Christ. Let me come to know the hope that springs from letting go and allowing you to lead me. Saint Polycarp, martyr of the faith, pray for us!

Thank you, Lord, for the gifts of intellect and will that lead me to know and choose you. Make yourself known to me today!

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

https://youtu.be/2W-KSOPWWBY

Readings

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew

Jesus said to his disciples: “But when you pray, go to your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.”

In today’s Gospel reading for Ash Wednesday, Jesus tells his disciples three key things that are vital for Lent: give alms, pray, and fast. In giving alms, he says, give secretly so that God will repay you in secret. Do the same in prayer, Jesus says, not drawing attention to yourself. And in fasting, Jesus says, “anoint your head and wash your face, so that you may not appear to be fasting, except to your Father who is hidden. And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you.” What is Jesus saying about a relationship with the Father that is brought about by prayer, fasting, and almsgiving?

God, help me hear the words that Jesus spoke to the disciples, recognizing that they are likewise spoken to me in the present day. In the first reading from Joel, the words “return to me with your whole heart” invite anyone who hears them into relationship with God, who is gracious and merciful and “slow to anger, rich in kindness, and relenting in punishment.” God, through prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, you give us a means to return wholeheartedly to your mercy, as Saint Paul says, to be reconciled to you.

During the distribution of the ashes, the priest or minister says, “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” They might say instead: “Repent and believe in the gospel.” Lord, help me think of this moment throughout the day as I prepare to receive the ashes and afterward. It is another opportunity to spend time with you in the inner room of the heart, your means of sustaining in me a willing spirit. From the Gospel acclamation: “If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.”

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

https://youtu.be/2W-KSOPWWBY

Readings