First Reading – Joel
2:12-18 ©
Responsorial Psalm -
Psalm 50(51):3-6, 12-14, 17
Second Reading – 2
Corinthians 5:20-6:2 ©
Gospel Acclamation Psalm
50:12, 14
The
Gospel According to Matthew 6:1 – 6, 16 - 18
(NJB)
Ash Wednesday (Year A)
The
anointed one is not a king, Jesus was not a lord. The Romans crowned him with
thorns, they mocked him when they called him king of the Jews.
Jesus
was a man of the land, one of the am haaretz. Go to him, follow him,
through him enter the way of compassion.
It
is right and good to pray for the people. It is even better to leave the
temple, to leave the church and be with them when they are suffering, but know
this: God does not intervene in our lives, God has equipped each of us to deal
with extraordinary grief, and hardship.
When
you go to the people go in modesty.
Celebrate,
rejoice and be grateful, God is with you and God is merciful, but God makes no
intercession for us living in the world.
Listen!
With
God there is never justice without mercy.
When
we seek forgiveness from God, we are looking for something that has already
found us.
When
we possess knowledge and we are contrite, that contrition is like a shower that
washes us clean, but God had forgiven us before we ever sinned or came to the
knowledge of it.
Be
mindful!
We
are all sinners, we are animals, no different than the wolf or the lion, but
God speaks to us from our innermost being, God is present at our core; in this
way God gives us the power and the grace to overcome our animal nature and live
a holy life; a life of conscience.
There
is no crime that God has not forgiven.
Do
not look for God’s hand in the tribulations we suffer here, or the rewards we
enjoy on earth, they are like the wind, fleeting and ephemeral.
Listen
to the Apostle, who says that our salvation is the work of God. God has done
the work, it began as Saint John said, in the first moment of creation.
The
fall, such as it is, happens subsequent to and in the context of God’s saving
work.
God
has done the work already, Jesus revealed the truth of it, and has entrusted
all of us who follow the way with the task of sharing that good news.
Here
is the gospel: You are reconciled to God. There is no debt to pay. Allow the
burden of sin, and the fear of it to fall away.
Be
glad.
It
was always God’s plan that we fall and rise together, that we rise and fall as
one, because we are one in the goodness of God.
The
apostle tells us, in the simplest of terms that the mission of the church is to
announce the reconciliation.
Hear
this!
Everyone
is reconciled in God’s love, in God who created the universe. The members of
the church are to be ambassadors of this good news. The church is not, nor
should it ever be a recruiting agency, as it is today obsessed with signing up
members, for whom the reward is reconciliation.
The
reconciliation has already occurred. The mission of the church is to proclaim
it.
Proclaim
that every day is a day of salvation.
With
God there is never justice without mercy. When we seek forgiveness from God, we
are looking for something that already found us.
When
we come to that knowledge and are contrite, that contrition is a the shower
that washes us clean, but God had forgiven us before we ever sinned or came to
the knowledge of it.
We
are all sinners, animals, no different than the wolf or the lion, but God
speaks to us from our innermost being, God is present at our core; in this way
God gives us the power and the grace to overcome our animal nature and live a
holy life, to live a life of conscience.
There
is no crime that God has not forgiven.
Do
not look for God’s hand in the tribulations we suffer here, or the rewards we
enjoy on earth, they are like the wind, fleeting and ephemeral.
Know
this!
It
is God who makes us well, who creates in us the possibility of wellbeing. God
is our wellbeing, but God is not a king and there are no other gods.
All
creation belongs to God, all that is good and all that frightens us, everything
comes from God and will redound to the good.
It
is good to show our respect for the creator and to sing songs in praise of God,
but remember this and remember it always, that God is our loving parent, and
has prepared each of us for God’s blessing.
Be
mindful of this!
You
will have no reward from God in this life, God does not intervene or interfere
in human events.
Do
not seek glorify or glorify yourself in public. Do not seek admiration from the
world at large.
Pray
in private, not in public, do not boast of your piety.
Do
not brag on how much you give to the world, or how well you pay your employees,
do good for the sake of doing good, be fair for fairness’ sake.
Go
to your work and to your disciplines gladly, if you are fasting then fast,
smile and be happy.
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
Our
God comes and will not be silent!
Devouring
fire precedes him,
it
rages strongly around him.
He
calls to the heavens above
and
to the earth to judge his people:
“Gather
my loyal ones to me,
those
who made a covenant with me by sacrifice.”
The
heavens proclaim his righteousness,
for
God himself is the judge.
Were
I hungry, I would not tell you,
for
mine is the world and all that fills it.
Do
I eat the flesh of bulls
or
drink the blood of he-goats?
Offer
praise as your sacrifice to God;
fulfill
your vows to the Most High.
You
hate discipline;
you
cast my words behind you!
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 Psalm 50:12, 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!
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!
The Gospel According to
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.’
Ash Wednesday (Year A)
