February 18, 2015
Ash Wednesday
“Blow the trumpets. Call an assembly. Gather the people.†Joel, the prophet, is calling Israel to return to God and renew the covenant. St. Paul, not with an oracle or trumpet blast, but with a letter, exhorts the Church at Corinth to be reconciled with God in Christ. Lent is a coming home, a return to God, a season of reconciliation and peace. Jesus, in the Gospel according to St. Matthew, calls us to pray, fast and to give alms. Prayer is conversation with God. It can take the form of praise, petition, contrition and thanksgiving but above all it is listening to the gentle whispering sound of God’s love and mercy in the quiet of our hearts. Fasting and abstinence are a means of self- control over appetites for food, drink, pleasure and possessions. We become enslaved to our passions. Fasting leads to greater freedom. We come to experience in the depth of our being a hunger for meaning and for God. Almsgiving is living with generosity and helping people in need. If you are willing to become an “ambassador of Christ,†if your are willing to continue your Lenten journey to the cross and Easter joy and resurrection, please come forward to receive ashes etched on your forehead in the form of a cross. “Remember you are dust and to dust you shall return.†“Turn from sin and accept the Gospel of Jesus Christ.â€
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6th Sunday Ordinary Time
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First Sunday of Lent
