Ash Wednesday


“Take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them…when you give alms, do not blow a trumpet before you…to win the praise of others”…but be sure to pick up your Catholic Relief Services Rice Bowl and display it in a prominent place in your dorm room, so that others will know what a nice thing you’re doing for Lent.

“When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites who love to stand and pray in synagogues and on street corners so that others may see them”…but it is good to see so many of you here in the Chapel today, even if today is not technically a holy day of obligation.

“When you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites.  They neglect their appearance, so that they may appear to be fasting...anoint your head, wash your face”…but be sure when you come forward to get your ashes in a few moments to brush aside your hair, so that we can make a good, dark smudge on your forehead for all to see.

Every Ash Wednesday it seems like we do exactly the opposite of what Jesus asks us to do in this Gospel.  We make a big deal of our prayer, our fasting and our almsgiving.

And so, are we really just a bunch of hypocrites? Well, that is up to each one of us individually.  We’re only hypocrites if these “externals” remain external.

But, if we follow the advice of the Prophet Joel and “rend [our] hearts, not [our] garments,” then as imperfect as we may be in our pursuit of holiness, we are not hypocrites.  We are brothers and sisters in Christ, who are striving to be more the people we were created to be.

If, however, what we do today to begin Lent is just an annual “show” or an empty ritual, then, as Jesus says, “[We] have [already] received [our] reward.”

I invite you, on this Ash Wednesday, as we begin the discipline of Lent to truly rend…to splay open your hearts, to receive the many graces that God wants to pour out on you in this time.  Wear your ashes on the inside!  Bear fruit through hidden prayer, fasting and almsgiving.  Then today will be truly the start of something life changing.

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