Word to the Wise
Wednesday, February 26, 2020 - Ash Wednesday
[Joel 2:12-18 and 2 Cor 5:20-6:2 and Matt 6:1-6, 16-18]WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2020 ASH WEDNESDAY [Joel 2:12-18; 2 Corinthians 5:20-6:2; Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18] Rend your hearts and not your garments, and return to the Lord, your God. [Joel] “Take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them, otherwise you will have no recompense from your Heavenly Father.” [Matthew] Is Lent already here? Where is time going? I can imagine that I am not alone in that feeling. And here I am at the last moment trying to decide what to “do” (or not “do”) for Lent? I’ll certainly be busy on Ash Wednesday with services and smearing ashes on the foreheads of the largest crowd of worshipers we will see all year! What can I saw that will urge them to “rend their hearts and not their garments” or their waistlines? My inclination is to challenge folks to ask the same four questions I ask myself as a Dominican friar, especially on retreat, but at other times as well: How am I praying? How am I learning? How am I loving? How am I serving? Each of these questions can at least tug at the heart if not “rend” it because the answer may require new efforts and some conversion. If we can do that during Lent, it will be a successful preparation for Holy Week, to be sure, but even more, a successful preparation for the rest of the year! The ashes are only for a day! AMEN
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