Wednesday,
February 18, 2015
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)
The ancient Near Eastern tradition of sprinkling ashes on one’s head to signify repentance comes to life today with the celebration of Ash Wednesday. As the priest uses the ashes to trace a cross on our foreheads, he says, “Remember man you are dust and to dust you shall return.” In essence it is a reminder of death. To dilute the unpleasant effect of this reminder a priest would insert in his Ash Wednesday homilies this adulterated Bible verse: “Remember man that you are dust and you shall return to the…. dust bin”. It’s a joke but it carries the serious reminder that like useless trash ending in the dust bin we shall all return to dust.
Ash Wednesday goes deeper than the Near Eastern tradition of ash sprinkling by our practices of fast and abstinence because of its three obligations. First is the imposition of ashes on our foreheads; second is the abstention from meat; third is the one-full-meal- a-day obligation.
May these practices lead us deeper into the spirit of the Season of Lent! – Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., DM. Email: [email protected]. Website: www.frdan.org.
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