Ash Wednesday reading and reflection 2021

Part of a Liturgy celebrated in each classroom on Wednesday, February 17

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Matthew 6: 1-6, 16-21 

Beware of practicing your piety before others
in order to be seen by them,
for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven. 

So, whenever you give alms,
do not sound a trumpet before you,
as the hypocrites do
in the synagogues and in the streets,
so that they may be praised by others.
Truly I tell you, they have received their reward.
But when you give alms,
do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing
so that your alms may be done in secret,
and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

And whenever you pray,
do not be like the hypocrites,
for they love to stand and pray
in the synagogues and at the street corners
so that they may be seen by others.
Truly I tell you, they have received their reward.
But whenever 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.

And whenever you fast,
do not look dismal, like the hypocrites,
for they disfigure their faces
so as to show others that they are fasting.
Truly I tell you, they have received their reward.
But when you fast,
put oil on your head and wash your face
so that your fasting may be seen not by others
but by your Father who is in secret,
and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. 

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth,
where moth and rust consume and
where thieves break in and steal,
but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven,
where neither moth nor rust consumes and
where thieves do not break in and steal.
For where your treasure is,
there your heart will be also.

 

Ash Wednesday 2021 Reflection

Today’s reading from the Gospel is quite long. The most important message is found at the end, and we will start there and work backwards.

Jesus says what we are all aware of - nothing lasts forever; everything we have, and even our own bodies, will eventually stop working. The only thing that lasts forever is God and the souls that He has blessed us with. If we truly accept this, then it will affect how we live. We will, as Jesus says, store us treasures in heaven, not here on earth.

How do we do this? By helping our souls come closer to their true purpose - to love above everything else; to become as close as we can to what God is. God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, three Persons in one unity of Love. This Love overflows from the Trinity as love for us, as a free gift that we can accept to become more fully what we created to be - people who love the God Who loves us and who don’t know how to do anything else but love others, always.

The problem is that there is a part in all of us that does not want to give but only receive. We don’t fully accept God’s love, so we look for love in other people and even in other things. We want to feel love without realizing that love is always incomplete until it is given.

If we realize that our selfishness stops us from giving love, and therefore also from receiving love, we can decide to change our focus. We can, as Jesus says, give alms, which means supporting those in need - like donating to the food bank or helping someone with your time. We can pray, asking God to help us receive His Love. And we can fast - denying something that we like to help train us to become more focused on God and others.

These three things - almsgiving, prayer, and fasting - are what we are called to in a special way during Lent. By becoming less focused on ourselves, we can discover more about ourselves - about our purpose to love. These acts of sacrifice can be hard, but we can even want them if we truly understand that they are a way to reach an amazing goal - true love, a love that never fails, the ultimate treasure. As Jesus says, where our treasure is, there our hearts - our focus - will be also.

I wish you all a blessed Lent.