Start Inward

"By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” 

First Reading: Joel 12:12-18

Yet 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.

Resp. Psalm: Psalms 51:3-4, 5-6, 12-13, 14, 17

Second Reading: Cor. 5:20--6:2

So 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: Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18

"(But) 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.

 Reflection:
By Benj. Santiago

“Now therefore, the Lord says: “”Be converted to me with your whole heart, in fasting and weeping and mourning.””  And rend your hearts, and not your garments, and convert to the Lord your God. For He is gracious and merciful, patient and full of compassion, and steadfast despite ill will.” Joel2:12-13

“But as for you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that your fasting will not be apparent to men, but to your Father, who is in secret. And your Father, who sees in secret, will repay you.” Matthew 6:17-18

Ash Wednesday ushers in the 40 days of Lent. And there is no fitting way to observe this but to fast and do acts of mercy. Most of the churches get packed up with people lining up to be marked with ashes on their forehead.  An outward sign of repentance which we inherited and adapted from the Jewish practice. The Jews pour ashes on their heads as a sign of repentance.  Another Jewish practice is to rend or tear apart their clothes to show their mourning, another outward show.

I have met a couple who are multi-millionaires, who do their all-out giving support to priests, parishes, and institution for the elderly, in secret. They happily do it and I am sure the Lord is also very happy with them that they are continuously blessed and their business keeps growing and is able to provide employment to a lot of people.

Sure, there is nothing wrong with the rituals and traditions. We continue to do it as a constant outward reminder. But the Lord wants to teach us to be inward, more of the change of heart rather than what is apparent to the eyes of other people. Jesus wants us to start our conversion from within. And more importantly, He wants us to know that His Father is so merciful, so patient, so full of compassion, and so steadfast in spite of our iniquities and ill wills.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we praise You and we thank You for being gracious, merciful, patient and full of compassion to us who are sinful and pretentious even in our fasting and repentance. We ask You to continue to teach, transform, convert our whole heart in fasting, in giving alms, and in our confessions! Thank You Lord Jesus for Your undying mercy. Thank You!

 Action

Start this day with a fast and give alms in secret.