Homily Lent (ABC) Ash Wednesday

The Message:

God will breathe his life into you.

Homily

The ashes that we use today are meant to remind us of these things.

First, they remind us that we are sinners. Although we are children of God, at the same time we are still children of this fallen world.

· Ashes are lifeless dust. Insofar as we still give in to our tendencies to selfishness and sin, we too are lifeless dust.

· Sin separates us from God, who is the source of all life.

· Without God's redeeming spirit in us, we would have no hope of eternal life.

Second, the ashes remind us that our sins, our acts of selfishness, cause damage.

· These ashes are made from the palm branches we used on Palm Sunday last year. They symbolized Christ's victory over sin.

· Our sins forfeit that victory. They destroy the life that God means us to live, just as the palm branches from last year's Palm Sunday were destroyed to make these ashes.

Third, and most importantly, the ashes remind us that in spite of our sins, in spite of our deep-seeded selfishness, God hasn't given up on us.

· Christ is our Redeemer! He claims us for his own.

· We still have a mission in his Kingdom; he still wants us to be his ambassadors.

Yes, we are marked with ashes, because we are sinners, but the mark is given in the sign of Christ's cross, which won for us the grace of a fresh start and a new life.

We are marked on our foreheads, because Christ wants us to go boldly into the world as his representatives.

He is not ashamed of us; he wants our friendship. He is our Savior

Jesus wants the truth and the power of his love to penetrate and transform our lives in a fresh way this Lent.

But he needs us to take off our masks in order for that to happen. He needs us to peel them away, like peeling away an old bandage, so that his grace can heal our wounds.

He points to three masks in particular.

First, we have the mask the blocks our relationship with God.

This is the one Jesus points to when he tells us to work on our prayer life, to pray from the heart, sincerely, not just to go through the motions.

Second, we have the mask that blocks our relationship with other people.

This is the one Jesus points to when he tells us to give alms in secret.

He wants us to open our hearts to our neighbors.

He wants us to care about them, to be interested in them, to look for ways to serve and encourage them instead of looking for ways to take advantage of them.

Third, we have the mask that blocks our own growth to maturity.

This is the one Jesus points to when he tells us to fast in secret.

He wants us to learn the art of self-governance and self-discipline, of humility and nobility.

He wants to free us from the degrading slavery to our base instincts.

[Here you can make reference to relevant Lenten programs in your parish.]

In this Mass, he offers us the grace we need to make a fresh start in our friendship with him. He offers us the strength we need to peel away whichever mask is blocking out his love, a love which never wavers.

Let's accept this grace and put it to work. Let's not leave this Mass without having committed to peel away one of those masks, to move up a notch either in our relationship with God, or with our neighbor, or with ourselves.

If we promise to do our part this Lent, we can be sure he will do his part

Readings for Ash Wednesday (ABC):

Jl 2 Rend your hearts, not your garments

Ps 51 Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.

1 Cor 5 We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

Lk 4 your Father who sees in secret will repay you

Reading 1 Jl 2:12-18

Even now, says the LORD, return to me with your whole heart, with fasting, and weeping, and mourning; 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. Perhaps he will again relent and leave behind him a blessing, Offerings and libations for the LORD, your God. Blow the trumpet in Zion! proclaim a fast, call an assembly; Gather the people, notify the congregation; Assemble the elders, gather the children and the infants at the breast; Let the bridegroom quit his room and the bride her chamber. Between the porch and the altar let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep, And say, “Spare, O LORD, your people, and make not your heritage a reproach, with the nations ruling over them! Why should they say among the peoples, ‘Where is their God?’” Then the LORD was stirred to concern for his land and took pity on his people.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 51:3-4, 5-6ab, 12-13, 14 and 17

R. (see 3a) Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.

Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness; in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense. Thoroughly wash me from my guilt and of my sin cleanse me.

R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.

For I acknowledge my offense, and my sin is before me always: “Against you only have I sinned, and done what is evil in your sight.”

R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.

A clean heart create for me, O God, and a steadfast spirit renew within me. Cast me not out from your presence, and your Holy Spirit take not from me.

R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.

Give me back the joy of your salvation, and a willing spirit sustain in me. O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall proclaim your praise.

R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.

Reading 2 2 Cor 5:20—6:2

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. 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. Working together, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain. 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.

Gospel Mt 6:1-6, 16-18

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. 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. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right is doing, so that your almsgiving may be secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you. “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. 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. “When you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites. They neglect their appearance, so that they may appear to others to be fasting. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you may not appear to be fasting, except to your Father who is hidden. And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you.”