ASH WEDNESDAY.

Joel 2:12-18; 2Cor 5:20-6:2; Mt 6:1-6, 16-18.

Today we start our itinerary towards Easter. The forty days of Lent is the annual retreat of the people of God in imitation of Jesus' forty days in the wilderness. To help us understand the significance of lent the Church makes use of a sign, the sign of ashes. Ashes are lifeless dust. Insofar as we still give in to our tendencies to selfishness and sin, we too are lifeless dust. Most importantly, the ashes remind us that in spite of our sins, in spite of our deep-seeded selfishness, God hasn't given up on us. 

Yes, we are marked with ashes, because we are sinners, but the mark is given in the sign of Christ's cross, which won for us the grace of a fresh start and a new life. We are marked on our foreheads, because Christ wants us to go boldly into the world as his representatives, as reforming and reformed sinners.

The sign of turning away from sin is indulging in good work. To the Jew the three great cardinal works of religious life were, alms-giving, prayer and fasting. These were seen as the key signs of a pious person, the three great pillars on which the good life was based. Pointing to these practices Jesus asks: Why do you pray, fast, and give alms? To draw attention to yourself so that others may notice and think highly of you? Or to give glory to God?

It is so tempting to expect a reward when we do something good; if not a thank you, at least a smile of appreciation. But Jesus means to say today that we should want to do the right thing because we care for those around us, because we believe that it is the right thing to do, not because someone is watching us and giving us a present. When someone is watching we tend to behave as hypocrites.

Jesus tells us to stop being hypocrites, to stop looking like Christians on the outside while being self-centered, arrogant, and egotistical on the inside. The word "hypocrite" comes from the Greek word for "actor". Actors pretend to be someone they're not. That's OK on stage, but not in real life. Jesus is encouraging us to take off our masks, to stop pretending, to once again be true to our true selves. God knows who we are through and through. So, we do not have to make a demonstration before Him to assure Him, or ourselves, that we are doing a good job.

When it comes to scrutinizing our own lives we tend to fall into a spirit of complacency. Thus, Lent comes as a time of grace to help us fight against this state of non-conversion. Putting our bodies "on a diet" so to say, by fasting from food as well as from other things that give us pleasure (such as smoking, movies, computers, liquor, gossip etc.) will be a help to put our spirit on a diet from sin. Prayer will help us fight against our pride that wants everything to go our way; for prayer is always an acknowledgement that there is a God who leads our history. Almsgiving is the weapon that fights against our love for money. As long as money is something that rules our lives we lack wisdom to see our reality of sin.

Giving up something for Lent can show reverence for God, our Creator and Redeemer. In so doing, we are also strengthening our spirit. We are training our souls in self-discipline and self-mastery. They are also the true purpose behind abstaining from meat today and on Fridays during Lent, and behind fasting today and on Good Friday. Our fasting needs to be accompanied by a deep and sincere sorrow for our sins and the sins of the world around us.

Lent is the time to examine the depth of the interiority of our Christian life. A tree has to sink its roots deep into the ground, otherwise it comes down in the first storm. By willing service to our neighbor and controlling our desires let’s try to bring our flesh under the control of the spirit (Jesus said the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak) so that we may be able to deepen our spiritual tree.

When we receive the ashes on us today, let's activate our awareness of our ephemeral life here on earth and our sinful inclinations we need to master every day.

And when we receive Holy Communion, let's ask Jesus to help us find out what he wants us to give up for Lent, and let's ask him to give us strength to persevere in loving him with all our hearts, and loving our neighbor as ourselves.