20220302 COME BACK TO ME WITH ALL YOUR HEART
02 March, 2022, Ash Wednesday
First reading | 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.’
COME BACK TO ME WITH ALL YOUR HEART
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]
Prophet Joel said, “Now, now – it is the Lord who speaks – come back to me with all your heart, fasting, weeping, mourning.” It is the same invitation that was given to the Prodigal Son in the gospel. The prophet said, “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?” The context of the appeal was so that Israel would not suffer the punishment of God and be destroyed by their enemies. There was still time to make amends. We do not have to go through the same predicament of the Prodigal Son who was reduced to a destitute and a slave before he came to realization that what he was going through was on account of his sins of infidelity and estrangement from his father.
Indeed, this is the invitation of God to the entire people of God, the religious leaders and the laity. This call to conversion, a change of heart, is directed at us as individuals and as a community of sinners because the consequences of sin do not just affect the individual but the entire community as well. This explains why Joel called the religious leaders to, “Sound a 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.” Everyone is called to repentance, even the bridal couples were not exempted from repentance. The call to conversion is critical and is given priority over personal and social celebrations.
This call to conversion is directed firstly at the religious leaders, whether clerical, consecrated persons or lay leaders because of the scandals they can cause to the entire community. This is particularly so in the Catholic Church where many of us priests and religious have failed our people, not just in the way we conduct ourselves as ministers of the gospel and the Eucharist but in our personal life. Our sins have caused the Church, our people to suffer shame and embarrassment; and some have left the Church, disillusioned at how our priests and religious behaved, not like Jesus whom they are called to represent, as St Paul himself said, “we are ambassadors for Christ.” To be ambassadors for Christ means to represent Him physically and personally.
However, corporate, community and political leaders are not exempted from the call to repentance because by their actions, decisions and examples, they could either inspire the young people or make them copy their bad examples. Leaders in every aspect of life in society have tremendous influence in society. Alas, we wonder whether our leaders, especially in the entertainment world and the political world, are leading our people to perdition through the destruction of family life, confusion of genders, economic disparity, and provoking unease in the world through threats of war simply because of narrow political and national interests.
Of course, it is easy to blame our leaders and society for the situation we are in today. It is easy to make others our scapegoat for our failures. This was the case of Adam and Eve when they sinned against God. Eve blamed the Devil for tricking her and Adam laid the blame on Eve for giving him the fruit to eat. (Gn 3:12f) Rather, we must take responsibility as well because we have the power to resist and can do what is right and good. We need not succumb to the pressure of society. It all depends whom we want to follow. Whatever decision we make will affect us and society. Whilst it is true that man is a product of society, we must never forget that society is the product of man as well. Jesus could change the entire culture, so, too, many religious leaders as well. We must therefore never resign ourselves to the situation and cop out. This is why the Holy Father also called for the Synodal process so that everyone can own the responsibility of putting the Church back on track.
But this call to repentance must be from the heart as the prophet said, “Let your hearts be broken not your garments torn.” It must be a heartfelt and contrite turning to the Lord, not a formal and external repentance. Conversion must begin from a broken heart. Conversion can only take place when we see the depth of our misery because of what our sins have done to us and to our brothers and sisters. Without a broken heart, there will be no radical conversion. For this reason, the prophet Joel commanded the priests to shake off their indifferent attitude and perfunctory performance of the rituals and the sacrifices. Rather, from the depth of their contrite heart, “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, “Where is their God?”‘ Then the Lord, jealous on behalf of his land, took pity on his people.”
This is what the Lord is reminding us as well in the gospel. In endorsing the three pillars of spiritual exercises as recommended in Judaism, Jesus cautions that we should not practise them in an external manner to gain the attention of people. Rather, we should do so out of a true expression of our love and gratitude to God for His generosity and mercy towards us. What is central is not what we do but that through our good works, almsgiving, penance and prayers, we strengthen our relationship with God our Father, come to a greater self-awareness of our motives in what we do and the gravity of our sins; and most of all, cultivate compassion, charity and forgiveness towards our brothers and sisters who are suffering either in hunger or wounded in relationships.
The real reward that comes from prayers, penance and almsgiving is not to be recognized by the world for how pious we are, how disciplined we are, or how generous we are. Rather, it is our intimate union with God, sharing in His life, love and compassion. Hence, the Lord said, “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. When you pray go to your private room and, when you have shut the 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, 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.”
Yet, the fundamental cause for our desire for repentance and conversion must be a response to the grace and mercy of God. It is not our work but the work of God in us. St Paul tells us, “For our sake God made the sinless one into sin, so that in him we might become the goodness of God.” Our conversion is a grateful response to the grace of God given to us in Christ. It is Christ who reveals to us His Father’s mercy for us through His vicarious death for our salvation. Jesus the Son of God became man to assume our human nature and to share in our human weakness. He too faced the same temptations, and even more intensely than anyone of us. He offered Himself as the sacrificial victim, a blameless holocaust, for the atonement of our sins to render the justice of God before man. This is why St Paul says, Jesus was made sin for us so that we can be reconciled with God.
Consequently, St Paul wrote, “It is as though God were appealing through us, and the appeal that we make in Christ’s name is: be reconciled to 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.” We have received His grace, the grace of baptism or the grace to desire baptism for our catechumens. Let us, as St Paul reminds us, not to receive the grace of God in vain. As we begin the Season of Lent, we are in the beginning of Spring. To prepare for the feast of Easter, the Feast of New Life, St Paul urges us, “Clean out the old yeast so that you may be a new batch, as you really are unleavened. For our paschal lamb, Christ, has been sacrificed. Therefore, let us celebrate the festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” (1 Cor 5:7f) The psalmist says, “A pure heart create for me, O God.”
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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