Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 02-25-04, Ash Wednesday

Reading I
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 II
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."

Ash Wednesday

From: 2 Corinthians 5:20-6:2

The Ministry of Reconciliation (Continuation)

[20] So we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through
us. We beseech you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. [21] For
our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might
become the righteousness of God.

St Paul, a True Servant of Christ

[1] Working together with him, then, we entreat you not to accept the
grace of God in vain. [2] For he says, "At the acceptable time I have
listened to you, and helped you on the day of salvation." Behold, now
is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.

Commentary:

18-21. The reconciliation of mankind with God--whose friendship we lost
through original sin--has been brought about by Christ's death on the
cross. Jesus, who is like men in all things "yet without sinning" (Heb
4:14), bore the sins of men (cf. Is 53:4-12) and offered himself on the
cross as an atoning sacrifice for all those sins (cf. 1 Pet 2:22-25),
thereby reconciling men to God; through this sacrifice we became the
righteousness of God, that is, we are justified, made just in God's
sight (cf. Rom 1:17; 3:24-26 and notes). The Church reminds us of this
in the rite of sacramental absolution: "God, the Father of mercies,
through the death and resurrection of his son has reconciled the world
to himself [...]."

Our Lord entrusted the Apostles with this ministry of reconciliation
(v. 18), this "message of reconciliation" (v. 19), to pass it on to all
men: elsewhere in the New Testament it is described as the "message of
salvation" (Acts 13:26), the "word of grace" (Acts 14:3; 20:32), the
"word of life" ( 1 Jn 1: 1). Thus, the Apostles were our Lord's
ambassadors to men, to whom St Paul addresses a pressing call: "be
reconciled to God", that is, apply to yourselves the reconciliation
obtained by Jesus Christ--which is done mainly through the sacraments
of Baptism and Penance. "The Lord Jesus instituted in his Church the
sacrament of Penance, so that those who have committed sins after
Baptism might be reconciled with God, whom they have offended, and with
the Church itself whom they have injured" (John Paul II, "Aperite
Portas", 5).

21. "He made him to be sin": obviously St Paul does not mean that
Christ was guilty of sin; he does not say "to be a sinner" but "to be
sin". "Christ had no sin," St Augustine says; "he bore sins, but he did
not commit them" ("Enarrationes in Psalmos", 68, 1, 10).

According to the rite of atoning sacrifices (cf. Lev 4:24; 5:9; Num
19:9; Mic 6:7; Ps 40:7) the word "sin", corresponding to the Hebrew
"asam", refers to the actual act of sacrifice or to the victim being
offered. Therefore, this phrase means "he made him a victim for sin" or
"a sacrifice for sin". it should be remembered that in the Old
Testament nothing unclean or blemished could be offered to God; the
offering of an unblemished animal obtained God's pardon for the
transgression which one wanted to expiate. Since Jesus was the most
perfect of victims offered for us, he made full atonement for all sins.
In the Letter to the Hebrews, when comparing Christ's sacrifice with
that of the priests of the Old Testament, it is expressly stated that
"every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same
sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered
for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand
of God, then to wait until his enemies should be made a stool for his
feet. For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who
are sanctified" (Heb 10:11-14).

This concentrated sentence also echoes the Isaiah prophecy about the
sacrifice of the Servant of Yahweh; Christ, the head of the human race,
makes men sharers in the grace and glory he achieved through his
sufferings: "upon him was the chastisement that made us whole, and with
his stripes we are healed" (Is 53:5).

Jesus Christ, burdened with our sins and offering himself on the cross
as a sacrifice for them, brought about the Redemption: the Redemption
is the supreme example both of God's justice--which requires atonement
befitting the offense--and of his mercy, that mercy which makes him
love the world so much that "he gave his only Son" (Jn 3:16). "In the
Passion and Death of Christ--in the fact that the Father did not spare
his own Son, but 'for our sake made him sin'--absolute justice is
expressed, for Christ undergoes the Passion and Cross because of the
sins of humanity. This constitutes even a 'superabundance' of justice,
for the sins of man are 'compensated for' by the sacrifice of the
Man-God. Nevertheless, this justice, which is properly justice 'to
God's measure', springs completely from love, from the love of the
Father and of the Son, and completely bears fruit in love. Precisely
for this reason the divine justice revealed in the Cross of Christ is
'to God's measure', because it springs from love and is accomplished in
love, producing fruits of salvation. The divine dimension of redemption
is put into effect not only by bringing justice to bear upon sin, but
also by restoring to love that creative power in man thanks to which he
once more has access to the fullness of life and holiness that come
from God. In this way, redemption involves the revelation of mercy in
its fullness" (John Paul II, "Dives In Misericordia", 7).

1-10. St Paul concludes his long defense of his apostolic ministry (cf.
3:1-6:10) by saying that he has always tried to act as a worthy servant
of God. First he calls on the Corinthians to have a sense of
responsibility so that the grace of God be not ineffective in them (vv.
1-2), and then he briefly describes the afflictions this ministry has
meant for him. Earlier, he touched on this subject (cf. 4:7-12), and he
will deal with it again in 11:23-33.

1-2. St Paul exhorts the faithful not to accept the grace of God in
vain-which would happen if they did not cultivate the faith and initial
grace they received in Baptism and if they neglected the graces which
God continues to send them. This exhortation is valid for all
Christians: "We receive the grace of God in vain", St Francis de Sales
points out, "when we receive it at the gate of our heart, without
allowing it to enter: we receive it without receiving it; we receive it
without fruit, since there is no use in feeling the inspiration if one
does not consent unto it. And just as the sick man who has the medicine
in his hands, if he takes only part of it, will only partially benefit
from it, so too, when God sends a great and mighty inspiration to move
us to embrace his love, if we do not avail of it in its entirety, we
shall benefit from it only partially" ("Treatise on the Love of God",
book 2, chap. 11).

The Apostle urges them to cultivate the grace they have been given,
using a quotation from Isaiah (49:8): the right time has come, the day
of salvation. His words recall our Lord's preaching in the synagogue of
Nazareth (cf. Lk 4:16-21).

The "acceptable time" will last until Christ comes in glory at the end
of the world (in the life of the individual, it will last until the
hour of his death); until then, every day is "the day of salvation":
"'Ecce none dies salutis', the day of salvation is here before us. The
call of the good shepherd has reached us: '"ego vocavi te nomine too",
I have called you by name' (Is 43:1). Since love repays love, we must
reply: '"ecce ego quia vocasti me", Here I am, for you called me'
(1 Sam 3:5) [...]. I will be converted, I will turn again to the Lord
and love him as he wants to be loved" ([St] J. Escriva, "Christ Is Passing
By", 59).

Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text
taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries
made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of
Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock,
Co. Dublin, Ireland.

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

An Upright Intention in Almsgiving, Prayer and Fasting

(Jesus said to His disciples,) [1] "Beware of practising your piety
before men in order to be seen by them; for then you will have no
reward from your Father who is in Heaven.

[2] "Thus, when you give alms, sound no trumpet before you, as the
hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be
praised by men. Truly, I say to you, they have their reward. [3] But
when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand
is doing, [4] so that your alms may be in secret; and your Father who
sees in secret will reward you.

[5] "And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites; for they
love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners,
that they may be seen by men. Truly, I say to you, they have their
reward. [6] But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and
pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in
secret will reward you.

[16] "And when you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for
they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by men.
Truly, I say to you, they have their reward. [17] But when you fast,
anoint your head and wash your face, [18] that your fasting may not be
seen by men but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who
sees in secret will reward you."

Commentary:

1-18. "Piety", here, means good works (cf. note on Matthew 5:6). Our
Lord is indicating the kind of spirit in which we should do acts of
personal piety. Almsgiving, fasting and prayer were the basic forms
taken by personal piety among the chosen people--which is why Jesus
refers to these three subjects. With complete authority He teaches
that true piety must be practised with an upright intention, in the
presence of God and without any ostentation. Piety practised in this
way implies exercising our faith in God who sees us--and also in the
safe knowledge that He will reward those who are sincerely devout.

5-6. Following the teaching of Jesus, the Church has always taught us
to pray even when we were infants. By saying "you" (singular) our Lord
is stating quite unequivocally the need for personal prayer--relating
as child to Father, alone with God.

Public prayer, for which Christ's faithful assemble together, is
something necessary and holy; but it should never displace obedience to
this clear commandment of our Lord: "When you pray, go into your room
and shut the door and pray to your Father".

The Second Vatican Council reminds us of the teaching and practice of
the Church in its liturgy, which is "the summit toward which the
activity of the Church is directed; it is also the fount from which all
her power flows [...]. The spiritual life, however, is not limited
solely to participation in the liturgy. The Christian is indeed called
to pray with others, but he must also enter into his bedroom to pray to
his Father in secret; furthermore, according to the teaching of the
Apostle, he must pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17)"
("Sacrosanctum Concilium", 10 and 12).

A soul who really puts his Christian faith into practice realizes that
he needs frequently to get away and pray alone to his Father, God.
Jesus, who gives us this teaching about prayer, practised it during His
own life on earth: the holy Gospel reports that He often went apart to
pray on His own: "At times He spent the whole night in an intimate
conversation with His Father. The Apostles were filled with love when
they saw Christ pray" ([St] J. Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By", 119; cf.
Matthew 14:23; Mark 1:35; Luke 5:16; etc.). The Apostles followed the
Master's example, and so we see Peter going up to the rooftop of the house
to pray in private, and receiving a revelation (cf. Acts 10:9-16). "Our
life of prayer should also be based on some moments that are dedicated
exclusively to our conversation with God, moments of silent dialogue"
("ibid", 119).

16-18. Starting from the traditional practice of fasting, our Lord
tells us the spirit in which we should exercise mortification of our
senses: we should do so without ostentation, avoiding praise,
discreetly; that way Jesus' words will not apply to us: "they have
their reward"; it would have been a very bad deal. "The world admires
only spectacular sacrifice, because it does not realize the value of
sacrifice that is hidden and silent" ([St] J. Escriva, "The Way", 185).

FEAST OF THE DAY

Today is Ash Wednesday, on this day the burnt palms from the
previous Palm Sunday, are imposed on the foreheads of the faithful
as a sign of penance. Ash Wednesday begins the Liturgical Season
of Lent, a time where the faithful are called to baptismal renewal and
penance, and a time where the catechumens begin their final steps
to full initiation into the Church. Ash Wednesday is a day of fast and
abstinence when those who are able practice a penitential fast and
meat is not eaten.

The ashes symbolize the transience of human things, and our need
to look to the eternal things of heaven rather than the passing things
of earth. When we receive ashes, we are showing our humility and
acknowledging that we are no more than dust without the help of
God. The tradition of using ashes to show penitence has survived
since ancient Jewish times. As Christianity evolved, ashes
maintained their significance and always served as a sign of humility
and penance.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

Remember that you are dust, and unto dust you shall return.
Turn away from sin, and be faithful to the Gospel.
-Formulas used for the imposition of ashes.

TODAY IN HISTORY

844 Gregory IV begins and ends his reign as Pope
1959 Pope John XXIII, 90 days after his election, announced his
intention to hold an ecumenical council. (Vatican II officially opened
October 11, 1962 and closed December 8, 1965.)
1979 Pope John Paul II begins his first overseas trip as supreme pontiff

TODAY'S TIDBIT

Ash Wednesday is a day of universal fast and abstinence for the
Church. The general guideline for fasting is that the two smaller
meals of the day should add up to the size of the main meal of the
day.

INTENTION FOR THE DAY

Please pray for peace.

The Word Among Us

Wednesday, February 25, 2004

Meditation
Matthew 6:1-6,16-18

Ash Wednesday

Blow the trumpet in Zion; sanctify a fast; call a solemn assembly; gather the people. (Joel 2:15-16)

And so begins another season of Lent. Once more, God calls out, “Return to me . . . with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.” We know that Lent is a season of fasting and penance, but what does God urge first of all? “Return to me with all your heart. . . . Rend your hearts and not your garments” (Joel 2:12,13).

God is calling us to rend our hearts—to split them open and not try to change them ourselves. Yes, we do repent during Lent, and repentance does involve change. But the goal is not to make ourselves flawless. Who could do that anyway? In fact, Jesus told us not to make a display of our penance (Matthew 6:1). Rather than see us concerned about every little thought and action, God wants us to make our hearts fertile ground for his Holy Spirit, so that he might transform us—supernaturally, “in secret.”

How does this happen? When we give alms and pray and fast, we can invite the Holy Spirit to take up residence in our hearts. By adopting these traditional practices with hearts that are focused on the Father’s love and not on our sacrifices, we allow the Spirit to work in us. We allow him to make us more passionate for Jesus and more compassionate toward others. And as a result, we begin to think and act just as Jesus did.

The Holy Spirit wants to make us confident in God’s love. He wants to make us merciful toward those who need mercy; steadfastly opposed to sin, both in us and in the world; and open to the miraculous. And it all begins as we rend our hearts, plowing up ground for the Spirit to sow his seeds. Let’s embrace this Lent as a time of overflowing grace! In the quiet of our hearts, let’s take up Jesus’ thrice-given promise: “Your Father who sees in secret will reward you” (Matthew 6:4,6,18).

“Holy Spirit, I welcome you this Lent. I want to rend my heart, so that you have room to work in me.”

One Bread, One Body

All Issues > Volume 20, Number 2

<< Wednesday, February 25, 2004 >>

Ash Wednesday

Joel 2:12-18
2 Corinthians 5:20—6:2

Psalm 51
Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18

View Readings

LENT IN THE HOSPITAL

“Blow the trumpet in Zion! proclaim a fast.” —Joel 2:15

I have written One Bread, One Body for about twenty years. Most of the time I have written these daily teachings in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament. Occasionally, I have to write these teachings on airplanes and at other sundry locations. Today, on this first day of Lent, I write from my hospital bed with an IV in my arm, as I await potential surgery.

Today, throughout the world, many millions of Catholics hear the sobering words: “Remember, man, that you are dust, and unto dust you shall return.” A hospital bed is a good place to appreciate this command and statement. A hospital bed is a good place to hear another command: “Yet even now, says the Lord, return to Me with your whole heart, with fasting, and weeping, and mourning” (Jl 2:12). We know we should repent. But is it actually a matter of life or death, of salvation or damnation? A hospital bed is a good place to hear the wonderful promise: “Now is the acceptable time! Now is the day of salvation!” (2 Cor 6:2) In the hospital, “now” tends to mean more than “tomorrow.” A hospital bed is a good place to begin Lent and take God so dead seriously that we enter more fully into eternal life.

Have the holiest Lent ever, the Lent of a lifetime, a springtime of your life in the Spirit.

Prayer: Father, teach me the deeper meanings of an ashen cross.

Promise: “Then the Lord was stirred to concern for His land and took pity on His people.” —Jl 2:18

Praise: Sandra repented deeply and wept tears of contrition as she returned to Confession after an absence of twenty years.

Homily of the Day

Homily of the Day

Title:	God's Love-Power Can Change Hearts
Author:	Monsignor Dennis Clark, Ph.D.
Date:	Wednesday, February 25, 2004

Joel 2:12-18 / 2 Cor 5:20-6:2 / Mt 6:1-6,16-18

The human heart is more complex than any computer, and none of us ever fully understands its reasons and its choices. But we have to try, with God's help, lest we let our hearts lead us, all unawares, to places whose dangers are invisible to us. That testing of the heart and reorienting of the heart is what Lent is about.

In today's gospel, Matthew reminds us of one of the hazards that every religious person faces: Practicing our faith and doing good for others just to be seen and admired. It's a trap that's so easy to fall into, and it's such a waste of time and joy. The alternative is ever so much more satisfying because our hearts know that it is true.

Only a heart that sees that it is loved by God will have in it the astonished gratitude that impels it to thank God in word and deed. True thankfulness will blossom into prayer, into sharing with others what God has shared with us, and into striving to reshape our hearts into God's likeness. The good deeds will come naturally from deep inside, and what others see or don't see won't matter.

This Lent, concentrate on God's goodness and generosity to you, so totally unearned and unmerited. Gratitude will tell your heart where you need to go, and what needs to change. God's love-power has changed many hearts. Why not let His love-power change yours?

February 25, 2004, Ash Wednesday

Ash Wednesday

The use of ashes as a sign of penitence and remorse is rooted in Jewish tradition. “I turned to the Lord God, pleading in earnest prayer with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes.” (Daniel 9:3)

This Jew’s penitential practice carried over into the Christianity. In the early church custom dating back to the fourth century, those who had committed serious sin would present themselves to their bishop on Ash Wednesday, and he sprinkled ashes onto their hair shirts. The penitent would then spend the rest of Lent wearing the hair shirt as a public display of sinfulness.

The Ash Wednesday custom of placing ashes on the forehead became universal in the 11th century. In the 12th century, the practice began of burning the palm branches of the previous year to make the ashes.

After the 16th century Reformation, most Protestant churches did away with this custom, along with many other external practices of the Catholic Church. However, in recent decades, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Methodist and Episcopal churches have reinstated the use of ashes as part of their liturgical renewal.

Today we begin reading the weekday Gospels of Lent. One way to pray the Scripture is to “take someone with you” and talk with them along the way. For example, Mary Magdalene, or Peter, or Mary the Mother of Jesus.

Jesus said, “When you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites. They make themselves unsightly so that others may catch sight of their 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 you Father who see what is hidden will repay you.” (Mt 6:1-5, 16-118)

Jewish Law required fasting on only one day of the year – Yom Kippur, the last of the 10 days of penitence introducing the New Year. However, special public fasts could be called in the face of disasters, e.g. a famine. There were also private fasts. For example, some Jewish people fasted every Tuesday and Thursday.

The true purpose of fasting is not to persuade God to do something we want, or to punish ourselves for our sins.

Rather, fasting is a form of prayer – prayer in action. It helps us experience and express: · Our hunger for God · Our dependence on God (food ultimately comes from God) · Our weakness and frailty · Our willingness to change some of the patterns in our life.

Of course I hunger and thirst for God. Of course I recognize my dependence on God. And all that.

Really?

Try some fasting and see if it makes “all that” more real.

Spend some quiet time with the Lord

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