Last night we had a bi-lingual service that set up the tone for Lent. With two sermons, one in English and one in Spanish, we saw the depth of God’s love for us. We also were reminded that conversion is not a superficial change, but one deep down inside of us. It is an experience that makes us turn away from the world and toward God. We need that reminder every year, or at least I do. The first reading this morning puts it in stark contrast. It doesn’t just say be good, do better. It phrases it as a matter of life and death.
Father Flores said last night to remember that the ashes we were receiving weren’t some magic symbol or incantation. They were an outward sign to show an inner disposition. The Gospel calls this a metanoia, which we often say as ‘conversion’ in modern days. It was more than that, though. It had the idea behind it that you did a complete 180-degree change in your life. One author even describes it as a ‘turning inside out’ of yourself. Conversion is a continual process, but it begins with repentance.
That was a word Father Francis used in his English homily. He spoke of how that prayer, fasting, and almsgiving were indeed pillars of our Lenten journey, but that the real outward sign of our conversion would be in our proximity to Jesus. Putting on sackcloth and ashes has been a long-standing tradition of the people of God. Does it mean anything if we don’t choose life? Jesus tells us in the Gospel today to ‘deny ourselves.’ So the Church, in her wisdom, begins this morning by reminding us that our fasting has only just started.
It would be so much easier to sit here this morning in my recliner, enjoy an excellent, sumptuous breakfast with some coffee, and then play some video games. The real sign of those ashes, the ones which have already disappeared into the night, is in how we continue to pick up our cross and follow Him. The frequent reception of the Sacraments should be on the top of our list. Confession and the Eucharist should be the center of our Catholic life during this time. Getting close to Jesus so that we can walk in the same footsteps as our Master is why we go through the desert in Lent.
Jesus is waiting for us in the confessional and at the altar. The Mass brings us to the foot of Calvary. The ashes we wore last night should be visible every day of the year on our souls. Having the humility to come before Him, the king of kings, and offer ourselves up even if it means giving up the things we desire or want; that is what it means to choose life. The Israelites saw it as a natural choice: choose God or choose idols. Today, in our fasting, make sure we are choosing something that helps us choose God. The Scriptures speak to us here today the same words of millennia ago: “I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse.” In a culture of death, this becomes all the more critical. “Choose life” for the Scriptures are clear that anything less can have dire, eternal consequences.
A reflection on the readings for February 27, 2020: Thursday after Ash Wednesday.