Today is the start of the Lenten season. It’s the designated time in our church for prayer, fasting, abstinence, and almsgiving. It’s a continuing challenge and there’s the tendency to obey the external rituals. No problem with that. These rituals, after all, are important basic guidelines and templates for us to follow. 

Yet, the verse above reminds us that it is our hearts that God sees. So when you fast from full meals, do you also fast from hurting others? When you abstain from eating meat, do you also abstain from being greedy, selfish, being judgmental, or self-righteous? And when you pray in public with other people—which is not bad since we do need to pray together—do you also pray alone to converse with God in silence, even when no one is watching but Him? 

Rend you heart, not your garments. Work from the inside out. 

And have a truly blessed and special Lent this year! Alvin Barcelona (apb_ayo@yahoo.com)

reflect

Think about this: “Man sees your actions. God sees your motives.” 

Father in heaven, grant me the grace to go through this Lenten season knowing that You see my heart in everything that I think, say, and do. May this Lenten season change me from the inside out. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

St. John Joseph of the Cross, pray for us.

The season of Lent begins with today’s first reading. It gives us a reason to embrace the penances—namely, hope in the promises of God—which are made available to us through the resurrection of Jesus, the season’s ultimate focal point.

¹² Even now, says the Lord, return to me with your whole heart, with fasting, and weeping, and mourning; ¹³ 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. ¹⁴ Perhaps he will again relent and leave behind him a blessing, Offerings and libations for the Lord, your God. ¹⁵ Blow the trumpet in Zion! proclaim a fast, call an assembly; ¹⁶ 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. ¹⁷ 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?’ ” ¹⁸ Then the Lord was stirred to concern for his land and took pity on his people.

Responsorial Psalm | Psalm 51:3-4, 5-6, 12-13, 14, 17

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

³ Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness; in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense. ⁴ Thoroughly wash me from my guilt and of my sin cleanse me. (R) ⁵ For I acknowledge my offense, and my sin is before me always: ⁶ “Against you only have I sinned, and done what is evil in your sight.”   (R)   ¹² A clean heart create for me, O God, and a steadfast spirit renew within me. ¹³ Cast me not out from your presence, and your Holy Spirit take not from me. (R) ¹⁴ Give me back the joy of your salvation, and a willing spirit sustain in me. ¹⁷ O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall proclaim your praise.   (R)  

Second Reading | 2 Corinthians 5:20–6:2 

Lent is a season of penance and reconciliation. Let us focus on these goals as we journey in the next seven weeks to Easter and prepare well for the celebration of Christ’s resurrection. Penance and suffering are given meaning through the suffering of Jesus. Lent is a time when we intensively learn this truth. Let us meditate daily on the passion of Jesus and draw more deeply into a life of faith.

²⁰ 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. ²¹ 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. ^6:1 Working together, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain. ² 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 

The best penances are the ones no one else knows about. Jesus teaches us that the only thing that matters is that God knows what we are doing and why. There is no virtue in parading our good works before others; we gain nothing from this. Penance is an important aspect of the spiritual life as it recognizes our need to repair the damage we have caused through sin.

Gospel Acclamation

If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.

¹ 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. ² 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. ³ But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right is doing, ⁴ so that your almsgiving may be secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you. ⁵ “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. ⁶ 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. ¹⁶ “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. ¹⁷ But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, ¹⁸ 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.”

Read the Bible in one year! Read REVELATION 1 - 3 today.

Growing up, I hated Ash Wednesday. The ash on my forehead compelled me to fulfill the Lenten practices: abstinence from meat on Fridays, giving up my favorite stuff during Lent, fasting on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, no favorite television shows on Holy Thursday and Good Friday, and my grandmother’s constant reprimand for laughing during Holy Week. 

But should Lent make us feel that way? Prophet Joel seems to affirm the experience of deprivation: “Return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.” The Psalm appears to promote a sense of melancholy. “For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me . . .”

But try to reread the First Reading and the Psalm in the light of the Gospel and the Second Reading. Joel’s exhortation to the Israelites does not end with a guilt trip. It points toward God’s mercy—compassion, slowness to anger, and love among the Israelites. Psalm 51 is not just about beating oneself badly for terrible sins. 

The Second Reading assures us that we can receive God’s reconciliation. God Himself initiated the process by sacrificing His Son for us. Jesus, in the Gospel, teaches us (1) that contrition springs from the experience of being loved unconditionally, and (2) the Lenten practices of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Prayer attunes us to God’s love actively working in our lives. Fasting frees us from attachments that hinder us from experiencing His love and loving Him in return. Almsgiving enfleshes the experience of God’s love to others.

Ash Wednesday, then, becomes a season for restoration rather than deprivation. Lenten observances open us to a more profound experience of God’s love. It allows us to focus once more on what is essential—our relationship with God through prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Fr. Bros Flores, SJ

reflection question

What are your resistances toward the Lenten celebration?

Lord Jesus, may I welcome this Lenten season with greater openness and excitement for the tremendous spiritual growth You have for me. Amen.

Today, I pray for: ___________________________________