Homily for March
1, 2006 Liturgical Year
B-Cycle II Ash Wednesday By Fr. Joshua Nyoni Topic:
Spiritual
Purification + + +
Reading I
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.
Reading II
2 Cor 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. Gospel
Mt 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.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The prophet Joel describes the actions of a penitential
people as fasting and prayer. Such actions are a signal
of
returning to God. St. Paul, in the letter to the Corinthians,
summarizes the
goal of penance, the result of the return or the outcome of Lent, as to
“be
reconciled with God”.
The Gospel today, calls us to some spiritual purification. Jesus
summons us to
check our motives in three areas:
1. Our Generosity (Almsgiving) 2. Prayer life 3. Fasting All these should be done, in such a way, that they are
seen by the Invisible God, the hidden God. In the end, it is the hidden
God,
who sees what is done in secret and who will reward us. These acts
should be God-centred
and not self-centred. They should be done so as to develop a
greater
and deeper relationship with God. The central questions for reflection
during
Lent are :
(a) Why do I give Alms? (b) Why do I pray? (c) Why do I fast? Lent is a providential time for Conversion, a radical
Conversion. It is about settling oneself right before God. Lent is
not
about ourselves but about becoming more God-centred. Lent pulls
us out
of ourselves towards others ( through fasting and almsgiving),and
towards God.
Lent is not a count-down time, so as to eat or drink again: it is an
intense
time for deepening. It is a time to reflect, contemplate the Mystery of
Love
shown by God through the gift of Jesus Christ, who underwent the
passion, death
and resurrection. Lent is a time to walk daily with Jesus to Jerusalem.
I think daily Mass will help us very much in this time of Lent.