Ash Wednesday
March 2, 2022
Daily Reading from the USCCB: Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18
Today is Ash Wednesday–the beginning of Lent. Catholics come to church on this day to be daubed with ashes that signify repentance. But there’s more to Lent than being sorry.
During Lent the Church proposes a whole spiritual program whose purpose is to bring us closer to God–to lead us to conversion, to a change of heart, to a deepened relationship with God.
In the Gospel reading Jesus tells us what’s involved: works of charity and prayer and a restricted use of human comforts, i.e., almsgiving, prayer, and fasting. These practices are to be between us and God–not done so that others will see. It’s what God sees that counts. “Getting ashes” doesn’t mean much unless we get them for the right reason.
