Wednesday, March 05, 2014
Ash Wednesday
1st Reading: Jl 2:12–18
2nd Reading:
2 Cor 5:20–6:2
Gospel: Mt 6:1–6, 16–18
Jesus said to his disciples, “Be careful not to make a show of your righteousness before people. If you do so, you do not gain anything from your Father in heaven. When you give something to the poor, do not have it trumpeted before you, as do those who want to be seen in the synagogues and in the streets in order to be praised by the people. I assure you, they have been already paid in full.
“If you give something to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your gift remains really secret. Your Father who sees what is kept secret, will reward you.
“When you pray, do not be like those who want to be seen. They love to stand and pray in the synagogues or on street corners to be seen by everyone.
I assure you, they have already been paid in full. When you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father who is with you in secret; and your Father who sees what is kept secret will reward you.
“When you fast, do not put on a miserable face as do the hypocrites. They put on a gloomy face, so people can see they are fasting. I tell you this: they have been paid in full already. When you fast, wash your face and make yourself look cheerful, because you are not fasting for appearances or for people, but for your Father who sees beyond appearances. And your Father, who sees what is kept secret will reward you.”
D@iGITAL-EXPERIENCE
(Daily Gospel in the
Assimilated Life
Experience)
During the imposition of ashes on our foreheads at Mass the priest says, “Remember man you are dust and to dust you shall return.” In essence it is a reminder of death. Death is an uncomfortable topic. To lessen the impact a priest engaged the people in a question and answer game during his homily. He said, “Remember man that you are dust and you shall return to where?” “To dust”, the people replied. “Wrong,” the preacher said. The answer should be “dust pan”.
The preacher’s joke carries the serious reminder that like dusts there is no value in us worth the attention of a superior being. This truth is even more unpleasant to talk about than death. The good news is that God intervened. Now we can say: “From dust we came to heaven we shall return”.
In light of this we approach Lent in the spirit of joy. We are excited to have our foreheads marked with ashes to formalize our resolve to do penance. We eat only one full meal today and on Good Friday and avoid meat today and on all Fridays of Lent in order to discipline our bodies and give more attention to our souls. – Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr.DM. Email: [email protected]. Website: www.frdan.org.
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