Wednesday, March 2, 2022

† ".Your Inner Room .. ." ASH Wednesday

†Saint Quote
""Act as if everything depended on you; trust as if everything depended on God."
–St. Ignatius of Loyola

†Today's Meditation
"Our Blessed Lord, bound like a thief, is conducted through the public streets of Jerusalem accompanied by a large body of soldiers who indulge their rage and hatred by ill-treating Him in every possible way, and surrounded by a multitude of people who overwhelm Him with insults and maledictions, and rejoice over His misfortunes. Jesus advances, His feet bare, and His strength utterly exhausted by all His mental and bodily sufferings, offering up the ignominy and tortures He is now enduring, to His Eternal Father, for the salvation of my soul. The soldiers render His position still more painful, by inviting people to approach and see their renowned prisoner, while Jesus proceeds on His way in the midst of them, with a humble demeanor and with downcast eyes, to teach us what value we should set on the esteem and honor of the world, and the applause of men. But a few days previously Jesus had passed through these same streets, applauded and honored by the crowd as the Messiah, and now, abandoned even by His disciples, He is followed only by perfidious enemies who seek His death, and unite in deriding and insulting Him as a malefactor, and the last of men. Such is the duration of the honors and praises of the world! Learn hence to seek the good pleasure of God alone, to labor for the acquisition of a right to the immortal honors of Paradise, and to practice patience under humiliation, from the example of Jesus."
—Fr. Ignatius of the Side of Jesus, p. 79-80

An Excerpt From
The School of Christ Crucified

†Daily Verse
"A slave of the Lord should not quarrel, but should be gentle with everyone, able to teach, tolerant, correcting opponents with kindness. It may be that God will grant them repentance that leads to knowledge of the truth, and that they may return to their senses out of the devil's snare, where they are entrapped by him, for his will."
–2 Timothy 2:24-26

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Blessed Charles the Good

Blessed Charles the Good (1083–1127), also known as Charles I and the Count of Flanders, was born in Denmark, the only son of King Canute IV (St. Canute) and Adela of Flanders. He was five years old when his father was assassinated in the Odense Cathedral, after which he and his mother fled for their lives to Flanders. He grew up in the royal court in that country and accompanied his maternal grandfather, a Count, on a crusade to the Holy Land. After his grandfather's death, Blessed Charles became an advisor to the next Count, his uncle; after his uncle's death, Charles became Count. He was highly regarded by the people for his holiness and virtue. He was outspoken against the common practice of hoarding grain and selling it at inflated prices, and opposed the prominent Erembald family who gained their financial prosperity through this unjust practice. On March 2, 1127, while Charles was in church praying, he was slain by soldiers loyal to the Erembald family, in the same manner his father was killed. His death sparked a public outcry and uprising against the Erembald family, while Charles was immediately looked upon as a martyr and saint. His feast day is March 2nd.

Ash Wednesday

Lectionary: 219
Reading I

Jl 2:12-18

Even now, says the LORD,

return to me with your whole heart,

with fasting, and weeping, and mourning;
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.
Perhaps he will again relent

and leave behind him a blessing,
Offerings and libations

for the LORD, your God.

Blow the trumpet in Zion!

proclaim a fast,

call an assembly;
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.
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?'"

Then the LORD was stirred to concern for his land

and took pity on his people.

Responsorial Psalm

51:3-4, 5-6ab, 12-13, 14 and 17

R. (see 3a) Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness;

in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense.
Thoroughly wash me from my guilt

and of my sin cleanse me.
R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
For I acknowledge my offense,

and my sin is before me always:
"Against you only have I sinned,

and done what is evil in your sight."
R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
A clean heart create for me, O God,

and a steadfast spirit renew within me.
Cast me not out from your presence,

and your Holy Spirit take not from me.
R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
Give me back the joy of your salvation,

and a willing spirit sustain in me.
O Lord, open my lips

and my mouth shall proclaim your praise.
R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.

Reading II

2 Cor 5:20—6:2

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.
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.

Working together, then,
we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain.
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.
Verse Before the Gospel
See Ps 95:8

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

Gospel

Mt 6:1-6, 16-18

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.
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.
But when you give alms,
do not let your left hand know what your right is doing,
so that your almsgiving may be secret.
And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.

"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.
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.

"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.
But when you fast,
anoint your head and wash your face,
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."

Daily Meditation: Joel 2:12-18

Even now . . . (Joel 2:12)

Here we are at the beginning of Lent, and the first words we hear are immediate, even urgent: "Even now, says the Lord, return to me" (Joel 2:12).

Joel's words are a reminder to us that Lent is an entire forty days of "now." Every day during this season, you can return to the Lord. Not later, but now. You can make plans to fast or to spend more time in prayer or to give to those in need. Not sometime in the future, but now. There's a wide-open feeling about Lent because God is offering you a fresh start. A new opportunity to draw closer to him. Another chance to put your love for him into action.

And if you stumble? If you sleep through the time you had set aside to pray or absentmindedly eat meat on a Friday or put off your plans to serve lunches at the local shelter? Every day is another now, another opportunity to start again. God's mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23). If one day is discouraging, the next one can be better because the Lord is "gracious and merciful." He is "slow to anger, rich in kindness" (Joel 2:13). He will pour out his mercy and strength and joy on you, now, as you return to him with repentance, trust, and humility.

That's why Lent is such a blessed season. You have the opportunity each and every day to return to the Lord, to get to know him more, to learn how to better love the people around you. When you love and commit yourself to him, he fills you with his love and grace. You do your best, and even when you fall, he takes you back and gives you a fresh start. His life can grow in you more and more every day as you get closer to Easter.

It's Ash Wednesday, the start of Lent. So make a plan and return to the Lord. Even now.

"Jesus, I want to use every day this Lent to grow closer to you. Help me return to you now."

Psalm 51:3-6, 12-14, 17
2 Corinthians 5:20–6:2
Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18

From today's 1st Holy Scripture:
"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?'" Then the LORD was stirred to concern for his land and took pity on his people."

The people then made a public fasting, a sign for the world to see repentance, for God to see, and all for a plea for mercy. Make a return, with fasting, mourning, and weeping.

I got the weeping part down, seeing loved ones suffer, with the recent loss in our family and community. I am already mourning, and now for us and for the whole world. God wants our hearts, on top of all the fasting and mourning. Can I turn away from a life of sin? Can we make our body do what we want our soul to do? Be pleasing to God. Be praising God. Be appeasing to God.

We pray in Psalms:
"A clean heart create for me, O God, and a steadfast spirit renew within me. Cast me not out from your presence, and your Holy Spirit take not from me. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned"

And so we fast. From food. And more importantly, we fast and abstain from sin. We stay away from things that give us pleasure.

And this goes against the world that is obsessed with pleasure and self pleasure. All things suffering are rejected by the world. But for God? Sacrifice for love means more than we will ever know.

Our Lord speaks:
"But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, 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."

We put on ashes on to start 40 days into a spiritual desert. We put on ashes to remember we are dust, and that God is everything. We put on ashes to go into secret prayer, giving, and fasting.

They say that when we die, we will face our first judgement, and our life will be replayed before our eyes, and the smallest of acts of unkindness will be placed before our eyes.

Your Father in Heaven sees what is hidden. He sees clearly all secrets. And that is where He aims to enter our lives, for the light to enter our lives during this time of Spiritual Reparation.

It was a sacrifice already this morning, to wake up before dawn, and get ready, not just me, but my wife and all 8 kids, to get ready for Ash Wednesday Mass before dawn. Normally all wake up after sunrise. And as I write, I'm never hungry, and now, knowing I'm fasting, all I'm thinking is food. Sacrifice. And now when temptations enter my mind, I'm praying them away, or offering them up. Lent is time well spent...with God. Time, praying.
Time, fasting.
Time, giving.
Am I letting my left hand know what the right hand is doing? No, I'm not letting you in on my private fasting.

I'm abstaining. No meat today or any Friday. Everyone is to do that. But Lent is not only abstinence related. There is more to it. We should've already been praying, fasting, and giving our whole life, but Lent is to intensify our spiritual life, to kick it up a notch. To give more, to pray more, to fast more.
I remember offering my lent for my loved ones to be freed from addictions. But I'm afraid I've missed the point. Lent is for God. For God to turn to us as we turn to Him. To reunite and reignite our love for each other. It is time set apart, to be together, to strengthen our relationship.

Perhaps then, humility will grow, and my pride will be deflated.