Gather the People!

Ash Wednesday 2010






In the words of the prophet Joel found in the First Reading:

"Gather the people,
Notify the congregation,
Assemble the elders...
...Spare, O Lord, your people..."

Today, as we begin our Lenten journey, we realize that we are not to journey alone. In order to truly experience the Resurrection that is at the end of our journey, we must travel together as a community.

No one can travel alone. We are not independent of each other; but we must rely on each other, even as we remain dependent on God.

As we receive our ashes in the form of a cross on our foreheads, we are also reminded that we are sinners and need reconciliation with God. Lent is the "acceptable time" (2 Cor.) as we take up the three duties that we find in the Gospel of Matthew: fasting, prayer and almsgiving. Jesus encourages us not to make a big show of doing these things. We are to fast with a cheerful demeanor, to pray in secret and to give alms in such a way that our left hand does not know what our right hand has done. In this way, only God knows what we have done and thus He will reward us in heaven. Our sacrifices are never in vain.

With a spirit of humility, we begin our Lenten journey with this prayer:

"A clean heart create for me, O God
And a steadfast spirit renew within me." (Ps. 51)