Gospel: March 5, 2025
March 5, 2025 (Wednesday) Start of Lent
Ash Wednesday
Psalter: Week 4 / (Violet)
Start of Lent, a Day of Universal Fast. Day of fast (ages 18-59)
and abstinence from meat (age 14 and up).
Ps 51:3-4, 5-6ab, 12-13, 14 & 17
Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
1st Reading: Joel 2:12-18
The Lord says, “Yet even now, return to me with your whole heart; with fasting, weeping and mourning. Rend your heart, not your garment. Return to the Lord, your God gracious and compassionate.” The Lord is slow to anger, full of kindness, and he repents of having punished.
Who knows? Probably he will relent once more, and spare some part of the harvest, from which we may bring sacred offerings to the Lord, your God. Blow the trumpet in Zion, proclaim a sacred fast, call a solemn assembly. Gather the people, sanctify the community, bring together the elders, even the children and infants at the breast. Let the bridegroom leave his bed, and the bride her room. Between the vestibule and the altar, let the priests, the Lord’s ministers, weep and say: Spare your people, Lord. Do not humble them or make them an object of scorn among the nations. Why should it be said among the people: Where is their God? The Lord has become jealous for his land; he has had pity on his people.
2nd Reading: 2 Corinthians 5:20—6:2
So we present ourselves as ambassadors in the name of Christ, as if God himself makes an appeal to you through us. Let God reconcile you; this we ask you in the name of Christ. He had no sin, but God made him bear our sin so that in him we might share the holiness of God. Being God’s helpers, we beg you: let it not be in vain that you received this grace of God. Scripture says: At the favorable time I listened to you, on the day of salvation I helped you. This is the favorable time, this is the day of salvation.
Gospel: Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18
Be careful not to make a show of your good deeds 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 noticed in the synagogues and in the streets, in order to be praised by people. I assure you, they have their reward. 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 noticed. They love to stand and pray in the synagogues or on street corners, in order to be seen by everyone. I assure you, they have their reward. 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 that 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.
Reflection:
“All is ash.”
News reports present us with alarming images of the devastating wildfires around the world, which are on the increase due to global warming. Communities of people flee for their lives, leaving their homes and possessions, and when they return, all is ash. For all our discoveries and developments, human existence is still fragile and the things we build return to dust, just as we do. Ash Wednesday is a reminder of our frailty to burst our pride, to remind us of what is important and of where our life is leading. There is repentance for our pride as we receive our ashes at Mass, but Lent is also hope-filled, as in our frailty we hope in God’s merciful love. Our Lenten practices of increased prayer, fasting and almsgiving all serve to focus the mind and re-attune the heart, so that we can renew our friendship with the Lord. Life is filled with so much to do, and so much to distract us. Ash Wednesday is like the trumpet call in the first reading telling us not to leave it to another day, but to renew our commitment today, because “Now is the acceptable time; … now is the day of salvation.”
