Word to the Wise
Wednesday, March 1, 2017 - Ash Wednesday
[Joel 2:12-18 and 2 Cor 5:20-6:2 and Matt 6:1-6, 16-18]Rend your hearts, not your garments, and return to the Lord your God. [Joel]
The prophet Joel put it in a nutshell. Lent is for looking into the heart and not so much into the stomach! We will receive ashes on our forehead as a reminder of that admonition, but the forty days stretches ahead. Yes, fasting can be beneficial. Prayer is always helpful. Giving alms certainly helps the needy. The gospel passage today simply warns us about doing these things to attract attention to ourselves. If those traditional practices don't go beyond giving up chocolate or martinis, going to Mass every day, and an extra dollar in the poor box for forty days, Lent will not reach the heart. The Lord is looking into our whole lives.
I mentioned in my monthly newsletter, RBWORDS, for February that I ran across three simple questions that we can ask ourselves in Lent or on retreat: What do I need to START doing? What do I need to STOP doing? What do I need to KEEP ON doing? If we need a list for STARTING, the Gospel According to Matthew 25:31-45 is a good place to start ("When I was hungry....."). If we need a list for STOPPING, the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew, chs. 5-7 serves well. If we need a hint for KEEPING ON, St. Paul reminds us today that we are "ambassadors for Christ, as if God were appealing through us." Pope Francis uses the term, "missionaries of mercy."
Will this Lent be one that reaches our hearts? If it does, then we can be sure that it will reach the hearts of others as well because our actions will follow our heart. AMEN
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