Homily: Ash Wednesday
Ash Wednesday (Joel 2:12-18) “Lord Have Mercy on Me, a Sinner”
The beginning of our liturgy is different than what we usually experience. We move right from the opening rite into the first reading from the prophet Joel where we hear the prophet calling people to penance. He says, “Blow the horn, proclaim a fast.”
The book of the prophet Joel was written 400 years before the time of Christ. At that moment there was an invasion of locusts in Judah. Joel sees this invasion in apocalyptic terms. He describes the locusts, who are eating all the crops of the land, as an invading army. He speaks of destruction. Fire sweeps through everything. Barns are broken open. Grain pours out on the ground. Cattle starve to death. All of this denotes the Day of the Lord. The end times have come.
What are people to do in response? They are to pray and fast. Perhaps Joel says the suffering will end if the people show some sign of faith if penance is engaged in.
We can’t help but see parallels to our own time. We are still struggling with a pandemic. We have had symptoms of hope. Cases of COVID have dropped. But we wonder if this is an illusion. We have been in this position before haven’t we only to have COVID erupt again with ferocity. It seemed like the worst was over about a week ago.
But now we have a new threat. Our eyes turn toward the country of Ukraine today. Just when we thought one catastrophe was coming to an end a new crisis has erupted. Conquest has broken out. War is raging. A different type of death is in the air. What are we to do? We are called today to do penance; to fast, to pray, to do charity. If ever we were going to be serious about our penance it should be this year.
Usually, our penance is more of an opportunity for self-improvement. We enter the Lenten disciplines because of our own individual sins. But this year that seems self-serving. What are those sins we work on every year? We want to be a little more patient. We want to be less gluttonous. We want to leave our laziness behind. The list of our personal faults is long, but that seems unimportant right now.
The story we read in Joel reminds us of the fact that we also need to do penance because of social sin. Most often, we like to contemplate social sin from afar saying, “Well none of that is my fault.” What is social sin? War is a social sin. Racism is a social sin. Destruction of the environment is a social sin. The taking of innocent life is a social sin. Hoarding of resources is a social sin. We all are responsible for these sins in big and small ways. We are aware of social sin. But how often do we take responsibility. Once we admit our culpability then we must ask forgiveness. We need to do penance. We need to try to make amends.
Joel challenges the people he preaches to. Probably his audience didn’t like it. But he confronted the people of Judah, nonetheless. Today, we need to have a plan for Lent. How and when are we going to pray. At what time will we fast. What charity are we going to engage in. Lent cannot be a matter of receiving ashes and then waiting for Easter to arrive. Lent should be a time of prayer that leads to action.
We have many Lenten activities that we are suggesting. One spiritual activity is to build an altar at home. The altar can be in a corner of the dining room. Maybe it can be in a spare room where we can take time to pray. Each week we will ask that you add symbols to the altar. We will hand out a prayer service here at church which you can take home and pray alone or with others. Reflection questions will be included. Perhaps you can invite people in to engage in small group discussion.
We need peace in our world. Peace comes about through cultivating an empathetic heart. We pray that all people, including ourselves will repent, seek forgiveness, make amends, and build the Kingdom where the measure of victory is justice for all.
Reflection Questions:
- Do I ever confess social sin when I go to confession? Why or why not?
- Could I pray in a special way for someone in Ukraine this year? What would I ask for?
Dear Parishioners,
We are asking everyone to build a Lenten altar for their home this year. We will put symbols on the altar each week of Lent. There will be a prayer service we will hand out each week for use at home. You can pray with your household or combine with others to pray. Maybe you could invite in some neighbors for prayer and discussion. We are being flexible because of the ongoing health crisis.
The symbols we put on the altar this Ash Wednesday are the cross, ashes and a rice bowl. Putting money in the Rice Bowl could be a way of supporting Catholic Relief Services. It is very likely that part of this money will support the refugees in Ukraine.
We pray that our Lady will intercede and bring peace to our violent world.
Fr. Mark