20200226
THE
JOY OF REPENTANCE
26 February,
2020, Ash Wednesday
eadings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Violet.
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First reading
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Joel 2:12-18 ©
|
Let your hearts be broken, not your garments torn
‘Now,
now – it is the Lord who speaks –
come
back to me with all your heart,
fasting,
weeping, mourning.’
Let
your hearts be broken, not your garments torn,
turn
to the Lord your God again,
for
he is all tenderness and compassion,
slow
to anger, rich in graciousness,
and
ready to relent.
Who
knows if he will not turn again, will not relent,
will
not leave a blessing as he passes,
oblation
and libation
for
the Lord your God?
Sound
the trumpet in Zion!
Order
a fast,
proclaim
a solemn assembly,
call
the people together,
summon
the community,
assemble
the elders,
gather
the children,
even
the infants at the breast.
Let
the bridegroom leave his bedroom
and
the bride her alcove.
Between
vestibule and altar let the priests,
the
ministers of the Lord, lament.
Let
them say,
‘Spare
your people, Lord!
Do
not make your heritage a thing of shame,
a
byword for the nations.
Why
should it be said among the nations,
“Where
is their God?”’
Then
the Lord, jealous on behalf of his land,
took
pity on his people.
|
Responsorial
Psalm
|
|
Psalm 50(51):3-6,12-14,17 ©
|
Have
mercy on us, O Lord, for we have sinned.
Have
mercy on me, God, in your kindness.
In
your compassion blot out my offence.
O
wash me more and more from my guilt
and
cleanse me from my sin.
Have
mercy on us, O Lord, for we have sinned.
My
offences truly I know them;
my
sin is always before me
Against
you, you alone, have I sinned;
what
is evil in your sight I have done.
Have
mercy on us, O Lord, for we have sinned.
A
pure heart create for me, O God,
put
a steadfast spirit within me.
Do
not cast me away from your presence,
nor
deprive me of your holy spirit.
Have
mercy on us, O Lord, for we have sinned.
Give
me again the joy of your help;
with
a spirit of fervour sustain me,
O
Lord, open my lips
and
my mouth shall declare your praise.
Have
mercy on us, O Lord, for we have sinned.
|
Second reading
|
|
2 Corinthians 5:20-6:2 ©
|
Be reconciled to God
We are
ambassadors for Christ; it is as though God were appealing through us, and the
appeal that we make in Christ’s name is: be reconciled to God. For our sake God
made the sinless one into sin, so that in him we might become the goodness of
God. As his fellow workers, we beg you once again not to neglect the grace of
God that you have received. For he says: At
the favourable time, I have listened to you; on the day of salvation I came to
your help. Well, now is the
favourable time; this is the day of salvation.
|
Gospel
Acclamation
|
Ps50:12,14
|
Praise
to you, O Christ, king of eternal glory!
A
pure heart create for me, O God,
and
give me again the joy of your help.
Praise
to you, O Christ, king of eternal glory!
|
Or:
|
cf.Ps94:8
|
Praise
to you, O Christ, king of eternal glory!
Harden
not your hearts today,
but
listen to the voice of the Lord.
Praise
to you, O Christ, king of eternal glory!
|
Gospel
|
|
Matthew 6:1-6,16-18 ©
|
Your Father who sees all that is done in secret will reward you
Jesus said to his
disciples: ‘Be careful not to parade your good deeds before men to attract
their notice; by doing this you will lose all reward from your Father in
heaven. So when you give alms, do not have it trumpeted before you; this is
what the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets to win men’s
admiration. I tell you solemnly, they have had their reward. But when you give
alms, your left hand must not know what your right is doing; your almsgiving
must be secret, and your Father who sees all that is done in secret will reward
you.
‘And
when you pray, do not imitate the hypocrites: they love to say their prayers
standing up in the synagogues and at the street corners for people to see them;
I tell you solemnly, they have had their reward. But when you pray, go to your
private room and, when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in
that secret place, and your Father who sees all that is done in secret will
reward you.
‘When
you fast do not put on a gloomy look as the hypocrites do: they pull long faces
to let men know they are fasting. I tell you solemnly, they have had their
reward. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that no
one will know you are fasting except your Father who sees all that is done in
secret; and your Father who sees all that is done in secret will reward you.’
THE JOY OF
REPENTANCE
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Joel 2:12-18; Ps 51:3-6, 12-14, 17; 2 Cor 5:20 – 6:2; Mt 6:1-6, 16-18]
Today, we begin the
Season of Lent with the celebration of Ash Wednesday. The season of Lent tends to
appear rather somber, slow moving, pensive and lifeless. It
seems to be a joy-killer, taking away life, joy and fun. This is because
the Church wants us to spend time thinking about our life, our relationship
with God and with others by withdrawing temporarily from the world and our
normal activities. We are called to enter into the depths of
ourselves. This requires a contemplative spirit when we can recollect our
thoughts, feel the hunger and emptiness in our hearts.
In truth, the Season of
Lent is the beginning of the season of spring. It is also the beginning
of new life. It is in fact a
time of grace. This is what St Paul wrote, “As his fellow workers, we beg
you once again not to neglect the grace of God that you have received. For he
says: At the favourable time, I have listened to you; on the day of salvation I
came to your help. Well, now is the favourable time; this is the day of
salvation.” Indeed, the season of Lent is not to take life away
from us but to give us back our life. It is more than just a physical
life but a life with God.
However, this is
possible only if we take the path of repentance by giving up our old way of
life and exchanging it for the life of Christ. Repentance is not for the sake of
God but for ourselves. God has no joy in seeing us suffer. He wants
us to have the fullness of life. Repentance is the way to remove the
obstacles that hinder us from receiving the grace of God and His life.
Repentance is to turn away from sin so that we will not allow sin to have a
grip over us, leading us to further sins and eventually into the pit of
hell. It is sin, rooted in selfishness that causes us to be divided
and separated from our fellowmen through pride, greed, envy, lust, anger and
sloth. Repentance is to keep us from harming ourselves even more.
Otherwise, we will face the full judgement and wrath of God seen in the
consequences of our sins. This was why Joel appealed to his people to
seek repentance. “Who knows if he will not turn again, will not relent,
will not leave a blessing as he passes, oblation and libation for the Lord your
God? Let them say, ‘Spare your people, Lord! Do not make your heritage a thing
of shame, a byword for the nations, ‘Where is their God?’ Then the Lord, jealous
on behalf of his land, took pity on his people.”‘
Repentance is to set us
free to become what God has created us to be. St Paul wrote, “So if anyone is in Christ,
there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has
become new! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through
Christ.” (2 Cor 5:17f) In
Christ Jesus, we have become a new creation. “For by grace you have been
saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God –
not the result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are what he has made
us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be
our way of life.” (Eph2:8-10)
We are no longer controlled by our addictions and our sins. We can now be
free for love and for service. “For the love of Christ urges us on,
because we are convinced that one has died for all; therefore all have died.
And he died for all, so that those who live might live no longer for
themselves, but for him who died and was raised for them.” (2 Cor 5:14f)
Indeed, repentance
brings us deep interior joy and peace.
To be freed from our sins brings us true joy. The psalmist prayed, “My
offences truly I know them; my sin is always before me. Against you, you
alone, have I sinned; what is evil in your sight I have done. A pure
heart create for me, O God, put a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast
me away from your presence, nor deprive me of your holy spirit. Give me
again the joy of your help; with a spirit of fervour sustain me, O Lord, open
my lips and my mouth shall declare your praise.”
How, then, can we take
the path of repentance? Real repentance must come from the heart and with
sincerity. This is what the
prophet exhorted the people. “‘Now, now – it is the Lord who speaks –
come back to me with all your heart, fasting, weeping, mourning.’ Let your
hearts be broken, not your garments torn, turn to the Lord your God again, for
he is all tenderness and compassion, slow to anger, rich in graciousness, and
ready to relent.” Repentance cannot be just some external demonstration
of sorrow for our sins, unless we are truly sorry in the depths of our
hearts. We must not make the same mistake of the scribes and the
Pharisees. Jesus called them hypocrites because the works they did whilst
appearing to be good and holy were shallow because they were motivated by the
desire to impress others and gain attention rather than truly for the love of
God and repentance of their sins.
So how can we arrive at
a true contrition of heart? We
need to be receptive to His grace. If we want to have the strength to
turn away from sin and repent from our heart, we need to be exposed to His love
and mercy. St Paul wrote, “We are ambassadors for Christ; it is as though
God were appealing through us, and the appeal that we make in Christ’s name is:
be reconciled to God.” His grace comes to us through
our cooperation with the means He has given us. These are the three
pillars of spiritual life, namely, prayer, almsgiving and fasting. Right
from the outset, the Lord told us, “Be careful not to parade your good deeds
before men to attract their notice; by doing this you will lose all reward from
your Father in heaven.” The three pillars of spiritual life can be
exercised in such a way to make us more egoistic and turn us further away from
God to ourselves, or they can make us grow closer to Him. They are merely
means but it all depends on our motives.
The first way is that of
prayer. We cannot
encounter God’s love and mercy without entering into prayer. But
the Lord said, “When you are praying, do not heap up
empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard
because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows
what you need before you ask him.” (Mt 6:7f) Our prayer must go beyond
petitionary prayer to meditative and contemplative prayer so that we are led to
penitential prayer and prayers of praise and thanksgiving. Only when we
ponder on His love and mercy for us and reflect on our sinfulness, can we come
to encounter His forgiveness and His healing grace. Speaking to God about
our struggles, pains and our sorrows will help us to look at our trials, not
just from our own eyes but through the eyes of God who Himself suffered
innocently for us sinners on the cross. “For our sake God made the
sinless one into sin, so that in him we might become the goodness of God.”
Secondly, we must show
the fruits of prayer by living out what we pray. This is expressed in generosity through
almsgiving. “When you give alms, your left hand must not know what your
right is doing; your almsgiving must be secret, and your Father who sees all
that is done in secret will reward you.” It is through acts of mercy, not
just helping the poor. Giving must be in the fullest sense of the term, beyond
material goods to humble and selfless service to those who need our help,
caring for the poor and the marginalized, the sick and the lonely, and most of
all, through forgiveness of our enemies and those who have hurt us. St Peter
said, “Above all, maintain constant love for one another, for love covers a
multitude of sins. Be hospitable to one another without complaining.
Like good stewards of the manifold grace of God, serve one another with
whatever gift each of you has received.” (1 Pt 4:8-10)
Thirdly, prayer and
almsgiving can be further strengthened through fasting and mortification. Through fasting, our hearts are prepared
and disposed to listening to God. Physical hunger should lead us to a
greater consciousness of our spiritual hunger. Fasting is an
expression of our longing for God. It helps us to feel the sufferings of
God and the hunger of our fellowmen. So fasting not only helps us to pray
more fervently and prayerfully but it also helps us to be in touch with our
fellowmen. That is why, for those of us who are serious about growing in
our relationship with God, fasting is highly encouraged so that we can identify
with the long suffering love and mercy of God and how their sins hurt their
fellowmen.
So let us begin the
Season of Lent in the right perspective. As the Lord said, “When you fast, do not
put on a gloomy look as the hypocrites do: they pull long faces to let men know
they are fasting.” So instead of putting on a gloomy look during this
season, we should view it as an opportunity for grace. It is a time for
us to go back to basics, to rediscover our vocation, our purpose and goal in
life, and how we want to live the life that God wants us to live. It is a
time to be freed from the worldly things of life that enslave us. In this
way, Lent will truly be a springtime for us all. Let us be warned that
Lent will pass by quite quickly and we do not want to be included among those
who have received the grace of God in vain. So repentance must begin now,
for this is “the favourable time; this is the day of salvation.”
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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