Now I do cringe when I meet folks who look to the reception of ashes today as the end all, and be all, in their Lenten journey. With Joel, St. Paul, and the Jesus we hear in Matthew's Gospel we should be ready to tackle the spiritual evils which befall us. As Pope Francis has reminded us in his Lenten message, our faith should be an active faith. The Prayer, Fasting, and Almsgiving, certainly enables transformation in our lives, but it also calls us to be sharers of the gifts which we have received.
Back in Seminary Ash Wednesday was a prayer day. One of these days we celebrated the Mass throughout the Day. That is we began with the penitential rite, late in the morning we read from the scriptures, and later in the day we brought up bead and wine, concluding the day with the Eucharist. What was most powerful here was to go through the Mass very slowly, taking each part separately, and pondering its meaning and implications. Ash Wednesday can be the beginning of this journey of faith. We have an outline as to where we want to end up, but it is a process of looking at sin and evil, our sin and evil, and reflecting on the need for conversion, as well as the grace and mercy God holds out for us.
While there is a gnawing hunger from the fasting, the greater hunger should be for the wholeness and love which God has promised us through the covenant. We ought to turn around, metenoia, and go back home to where God is calling us. The greatest thing that we can learn today is the insistent relationship we have with God forged by the blood of the cross. So we must 'repent and believe in the Gospel.'
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