THE ASHES

There is really nowhere to go but to God. This we should have figured out by now. How come we kept on doing the same old wrongs over and over again? This is precisely why we have to be reminded always. Today is the beginning of Lent. It is Ash Wednesday. We are called by the Church to a supreme act of obedience to God the way Jesus did. This is the time of fulfillment to repent and believe in the gospel. We have to do it now and everyday. Lent brings that message at the forefront. Our first conversion is in baptism when we are made into a new creature. Our 2nd conversion should take place daily, the act of having to turn from sin and turn to God everyday. This is why we practice abstinence and fasting as part of our penitential practices that express our change of heart and conversion during this season. The Liturgical seasons bring into focus the different mysteries especially the need for penance and repentance. We are always in need of purification. We should constantly follow the path of penance and renewal. This is the sign of ashes. The sign of repentance that reminds us that we are dust and unto dust we shall return. We are sinners and mortals that are destined to one day die. We are on a journey and everything we see here is passing. This is the despair of men when we trust in ourselves and become hopeless without God. We need Him for conversion. The outward sign we bring to the world is the ashes on our forehead. We acknowledge Jesus and the power of the cross. We admit that we are sinners. In doing this, as to acknowledge and admit who we are before God is a relief. We should know why, as the 1st reading tells us today, the Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, rich in kindness, and relenting in punishment. Amen. Hallelujah!



Joel 2:12-18
12 Even now, says the LORD, return to me with your whole heart, with fasting, and weeping, and mourning; 13 rend your hearts, not your garments, and return to the LORD, your God. For gracious and merciful is he, slow to anger, rich in kindness, and relenting in punishment.

We need to stand in all humility before God and confess our sins. The body and soul are good but it demands a need for physical asceticism. We have to submit our bodies to an act of sacrifice without neglecting that conversion is first of all interior. Total conversion demands not only expression in works of penance but also of the heart. Amen. Hallelujah!

Psalms 51:3-4, 5-6, 12-13, 14, 17
R: Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
1 [3] Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness; in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense. 2 [4] Thoroughly wash me from my guilt and of my sin cleanse me. (R) 3 [5] For I acknowledge my offense, and my sin is before me always. 4 [6] “Against you only have I sinned, and done what is evil in your sight.” (R) 10 [12] A clean heart create for me, O God, and a steadfast spirit renew within me. 11 [13] Cast me not out from your presence, and your Holy Spirit take not from me. (R) 12 [14] Give me back the joy of your salvation, and a willing spirit sustain in me. 15 [17] O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall proclaim your praise.

We are called in today’s 2nd reading no less than anything or anyone else for we are ambassadors for Christ. Amen. Hallelujah!

2 Corinthians 5:20-6:2
20 Brothers and sisters: We are ambassadors for Christ, as if God were appealing through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who did not know sin, so that we might become the righteousness of God in him. 6: 1 Working together, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain. 2 For he says: “In an acceptable time I heard you, and on the day of salvation I helped you.” Behold, now is a very acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.


The gospel warns us today of the danger of putting on a big show without real change in our hearts. Interior conversion is primary. If our main goal is that we want men to see our penance then it is just for nothing. To truly repent of our sins is the start which is what happens in baptism. We need to change in relation to one’s self, God and to others. Fasting aids in a change in regards to self. Alms giving is in relation to our neighbors. Through these things, real growth is experienced here. If we spend more time in prayer then we can experience prayer growth. It fights the threefold concupiscence in our being which is a disordered drive to satisfy the flesh that our culture is so adept in presenting to us. The distractions that we are confronted with in the form of various entertainments that make us fall into lust are the tools of satan. This enemy is having a field day in our culture by bombarding us with these thoughts of wanting to have more and more. We aim for what seems to be pleasing in the eyes of others and to be in control. This is pride when we want to be the one who call the shots. Satan can device all forms of marketing strategies to get our attention and interest. We need to taper our desires and come to a point when we fast from it. We need to be open and docile to the Lord. We can begin the day by looking at the crucifix. We can see Jesus who followed His Father’s will. We are not out here to accumulate in worldly achievements but rather to follow more and more God’s will for us. We should turn from evil and reclaim the filial relationship with God. We can learn much from what Jesus demonstrated to us especially in the dessert when He was tempted. We just surrender and cling to Him with all our beings. Amen. Hallelujah!



Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18
1 Jesus said to his disciples: “Take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them; otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father. 2 When you give alms, do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets to win the praise of others. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. 3 But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right is doing, 4 so that your almsgiving may be secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you. 5 When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on street corners so that others may see them. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. 6 But when you pray, go to your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.