Ash Wednesday

My brothers and sisters, I hope you enjoyed Fat Tuesday, as different as that was this year for us during the pandemic! But today is Ash Wednesday and we begin our Lenten journey. I’m Deacon Rudy Villarreal. Thank you for joining me on deacon rudy’s notes where every weekend we break open the Word! Let’s get to it!

Today is Ash Wednesday and marks the first day of Lent. I’m sure there are many people in the world – isolated because of the pandemic – who can’t begin to imagine what more they could possibly give up this Lenten season. So, today, we’re going to talk about some options as we prepare ourselves for Easter.

First, why do we give something up during Lent? The point isn’t to make us miserable. The point is to help us shift our focus off our first world problems, slow down and grow in our relationship with God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. If that’s are our goal, then tell me how giving up a piece of chocolate or a glass of wine will help you? It might, as long as we put things into perspective.

What can we possibly give up this Lenten season during the pandemic that will help us grow in our relationship with Jesus? I suggest to you that rather than giving something up, maybe we could add something. I know, I know! Adding something probably means giving something up – a tradeoff. But I’m asking you to hear me out.

If you haven’t been to mass regularly this year because of the pandemic, then perhaps you can go online and make a small donation to your parish, to a Catholic charity, or another worthy charitable cause. Even though we can’t get to church as often as we want, the churches still need to pay their utility bills, and both churches and charities still need to feed the hungry, shelter the homeless, and care for the sick.

For example, our ministry in Honduras called Friends of Los Niños just kicked off an ambitious project in the village of Brisas del Salto to replace homes destroyed this year by two hurricanes, Eta and Iota. The goal is to replace their homes which were made of wood beams and corrugated steel with cinderblock homes. It costs $5,000 to build one house and we want to build 193 of them! Any amount helps. I’ll include a link to the donation page in the notes for this podcast.

So, we can add a donation that maybe we haven’t typically made. This is an example of almsgiving. But donating can also be a sacrifice because maybe we had other plans for that money. We can ask God to fill the void made by our gift. That’s one way we can use almsgiving and sacrifice to grow closer to God.

Now, what if money is tight right now because of the pandemic? Is there something else we could “add” during Lent? I’m glad you asked!

If you don’t pray every day, maybe you could add a few minutes of prayer time every day during Lent? If you already pray regularly, then maybe read the bible for a few minutes. You could find on the US Conference of Catholic Bishops website the readings for the day of the week. It won’t take you very long to go through the readings. I’ll include a link to the daily readings calendar in the notes for this podcast.

What if you are already praying a little and reading a little Scripture. How can you take it up a notch? This might be the best time to try praying with Scripture. Please don’t get hung up on the vocabulary, but we might do this in two different ways. One way is called Lectio Divina. The other is called contemplative prayer.

How do we do Lectio Divina? Here’s the basic formula. – First, there’s lectio or reading a piece of Scripture. You might pick one of the readings of the day. Ask yourself, “What does the text say that everyone should understand?” Second, meditatio, “What does the text say to me today, and to my life?” Third is oratio, “What can I say to the Lord in response to the Word?” Fourth, contemplatio or “What conversion of my mind, heart, and life is the Lord asking me?” Finally, there is actio, which is an important step added by Pope Benedict. “How can I make my life a gift for others?”

Don’t let all those questions intimidate you! You could always try a guided Lectio Divina. There’s a website called “Pray As You Go” created by the Jesuits in Britain, and they have a great app too. I’ll include the link in the notes for the podcast. Online or on their app, you will see a weekly calendar. Click on the day of the week. You’ll hear a great piece of music, and then they’ll proclaim one of the readings of the day. They’ll offer some questions for reflections and give you time to sit quietly with some excellent music playing in the background. They’ll then proclaim the reading a second time asking you a few more questions to consider while you listen. After that, they’ll wrap things up. It’s simple, straightforward, and generally not much longer than 12-15 minutes. I use this app to pray and reflect on the weekend readings a lot of the time as I’m praying with Scripture before I write a homily.

The other thing you could try is contemplative prayer. Thomas Merton, that great, inspired Trappist monk who lived in a community in Kentucky, helped Christianity rediscover the spiritual treasures of the early church fathers and mothers. Now there are two ways to do contemplative prayer: centering prayer and Christian meditation. Again, don’t get hung up on vocabulary or methods. They’re relatively similar.

I practice Christian meditation every day, and I love it! I will leave a link in the notes for this podcast to an introductory video on contemplative prayer. The link will take you to meditationchapel.org. The video is a bit long, but about halfway through the video, two different ladies will cover the basics of centering prayer and Christian meditation. It is really very straightforward.

You can also find all sorts of helpful information at the Center for Action and Contemplation associated with Fr. Richard Rohr OFM, and Contemplative Outreach associated with the late Fr. Thomas Keating OCSO, and the World Community for Christian Meditation associated with the late Fr. John Main OSB. I’ll include links to their websites in the notes for the podcast.

You’ll even find at meditationchapel.org a way to join online contemplative prayer groups happening all over the world at a variety of times.

Now, I know I suggested that you can add things like donations and prayer to your day. But these, of course, do require some sacrifice. The challenge is, are you willing to give it a try? To fit these in your day and your budget, you might need to do a different sort of fast. Maybe you fast a few minutes away from social media or away from the TV or other streaming services. These are indeed legitimate forms of fasting. But here’s a little more about traditional fasting.

In both our first reading from Joel and the Gospel according to Matthew, we hear about fasting. Nowadays, fasting has become in vogue for healthy living. That’s great for us because that means there are even secular websites that will give you tips on how to start a fasting program in consultation with your physician, of course. You’ll notice that in neither our readings today and nor anywhere else in Scripture does it say, “if you fast, do this.” Instead, Scripture tells us, “when you fast, do this.” The expectation in the ancient world is that we will fast.

Scripture testifies that fasting is an essential part of our spiritual exercises. And the good news is that you can fast from food and/or fast from screen time. We can say a simple prayer asking God to fill the void.

This very brief list gives us some options for prayer, fasting, and almsgiving that are different from the more common practices like giving up chocolate or wine. Does that make sense? Good, because that leads us to our homework!

As we begin this Lenten season nourished by the Word and the Eucharist, I invite you to reflect on the following two questions.
First, what will my Lenten practice be this year? Can I add a one-time donation, prayer, or Scripture reading this Lent?
Second, whatever your Lenten practice, at least once a week, I invite you to say this variation of a prayer I learned on an Ignatian retreat, “Lord, be with me as I pray, and help me learn how to feel Your presence all through the day.”

I think doing our homework will help us draw closer to God which is the whole point of our Lenten sacrifice. Do you got it? Do you get it? Good! Now go make disciples! May almighty God bless you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit! +Amen!

You’re listening to deacon rudy’s notes. Thank you for joining me today. Our theme music was composed by Silent Partner. You can find all sorts of helpful information on the website at www.deaconrudysnotes.org. I’m Deacon Rudy Villarreal. Join me again this weekend as we break open the Word. Peace!

Image Credit: Ash Wednesday. Artist Unknown. JPG.

Bibliography/Suggested Readings:
1. Mitch, Curtis and Edward Sri. The Gospel of Matthew. Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic, 2010. Kindle.
2. Stegman, SJ, Thomas D. Second Corinthians. Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic, 2009. Kindle.

Catechism References http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc.htm:
1. Christ died for our sins: 606-18
2. Almsgiving, prayer, fasting: 1434, 1969
3. Sacrament of Reconciliation: 1440-70, 1480-84
4. Prayer in general: 2604, 2668, 2691, 2729, 2736
5. The Lord’s Prayer: 2759-865

Ash Wednesday https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/021721.cfm
Lectionary: 219

Reading 1
Joel 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 2
2 Corinthians 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 Psalm 95:8
If today you hear his voice,
harden not your hearts.

Gospel
Matthew 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.”

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