Homily for February 25, 2009
Liturgical Year B - Cycle I
Ash Wednesday
By Fr. John Carney
Topic: Repentance and Conversion
+ + +
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Now is a very acceptable time. Today is the day of salvation. It's good that
we are here. Churches all over the world are filled today on Ash Wednesday.
In some measures this is the busiest day of the church year for us. In many
parishes more people are attending Ash Wednesday services than are present
at Christmas or Easter Masses and it's not even a Holy Day of Obligation.
The question is ""Why is that?" For the ashes. When we gather here on Ash
Wednesday, to be marked by the ashes and to continue this age old tradition
within the Catholic Church, all of us come together and admit that, "Yes,
I'm a sinner. Yes, I need God's mercy." And so, this is an excellent first
step to prepare for Easter, for Christ's resurrection at Easter. 0f course,
the symbol of ashes is a powerful symbol. Someone in college said that Ash
Wednesday is a great day if you're looking for a good husband or good wife
or if you want a Catholic boyfriend or girlfriend, look around for someone
with the "+" on their forehead.
Even if we don't think about what the ashes mean, we know what they mean in
our heart, as they're marked on our forehead today.
First, they're an outward sign of an inward decision to repent. Ashes are a
sign of repentance from centuries and centuries ago in many different cultures.
To our Jewish forefathers, ashes were a sign that God had had about enough of
them and that they had to change. They'd put on sack cloth, like burlap bags
and then, they would not only put a little mark of an ash on their forehead,
they would sit in the ashes and just pour the ashes over themselves. Now,
don't go back to work like that but . . .
They would look up and go, "What a mess, look at us, we're sorry, look at
us we're no good. Be merciful." How can he say no. He can't and he won't.
They knew they'd pushed God as about as far as they could and now they turned to
God and admitted their weakness and sinfulness and that's what we have done.
We've pushed God about as far as we can. And so, what we say today is that,
"I am a sinner and I want to change." Only it's easy to admit you're a sinner,
just watch yourself but what's more important to say is "I want to change,
I intend to change. I know I'm never going to be perfect but I want to be a
better man. I want to be a better woman. I want to be a more Christ-like
and this is the season in which I'll work on that goal.
Ashes are also a sign of death. They're a reminder that we are dust and unto
dust we shall return. As obvious as that is, it's important that we remind
ourselves frequently of our mortality. The saints say, "Live everyday with
death before you and you will live the holy life." If I knew and if you knew
you were to die tomorrow at noon, how would you spend these next several hours?
If you knew you were to die in 40 days, how would you spend these days?
You'd spend them living a very holy life. I know I would and I know you would.
It good to read the obituaries everyday because first you'll notice not
everyone is of proper age to die. People die when they are in their teen
years or when they're children or when they're 20 or 30 or 40. They die
unexpectedly and so we must be ready all the time. There's a story I tell
each Lent. You probably remember Father Murphy? Like many priest, the first
thing I do when I pick up the newspaper in the morning is read the obituaries.
I am just fascinated by them. I don't know why, it's an Irish custom, it's
a priest custom. Anyway, Father Murphy picked up the obituary and his name
was in it. Obviously, an awful mistake had been made and he was afraid the
bishop might read it and be confused or alarmed. So, he called the bishop
immediately and he said, "Bishop, did you see my name in the obituary this
morning?" and the bishop said, "I did Murphy. Where are you calling from?"
There were doubts of Murphy's holiness.
You know, I tell that joke every year and you all forget it because you
always laugh.
We are dust and unto dust we shall return. We get ready to die today,
we admit our sinfulness and the need of God's mercy today. We do that in
this discipline of Lent by fasting, almsgiving and by prayer. Fasting is
an ancient discipline of the church and something we need to do; it reminds
us of our total dependence on God. Today is the day of fast and also of
abstinence on today and on the Fridays of lent, we do not eat meat. It's a
sign of our family solidarity that we are one in Christ Jesus. When we fast,
we limit our food intake. Do you know that the fasting rules of the church
are that you're permitted to have one full meal and two lesser meals not to
equal to the full meal. You can gain weight on the Church's fasting schedule.
Almsgiving. Be generous with your money. I would say this: There is no
cheap person in heaven. Don't be cheap, be generous. I don't think there
is any generous person in hell. I don't know, I've never thought about that
but I think it's probably true. You know, give alms, and be generous with
your money. That is, what little you have left after last year.
Finally, prayer. Pray. You're here, so I'm preaching to the choir but
pray during Lent. For 40 days, from now until Holy Thursday, is 46 days.
There are six Sundays in Lent which we don't count for the discipline of
Lent, for the fasting and the giving up of the chocolates or whatever.
And so, there are 40 days in which we dedicate to the Lord.
If you can come to daily mass during Lent--you know the schedule. It's the
best 30 minutes of your day. Spend time in our chapel. I know a lot of
you are workers here in Los Alamos and this is not your home parish but
this is your church. It's yours as well as anyone else's. Our chapel has
an outside entrance and the combination is 134 and you can come anytime,
day or night. Maybe you want to give up your lunch hour for Lent or part
of it and come and spend some time in prayer. Please consider doing that.
Pray the rosary each day or the Chaplet of the Divine Mercy.
Do not be discouraged. Most of us, we hear two voices. We hear the voice
of the accuser. You know that voice, "You're no good, you're a hypocrite,
you're a great sinner, there is no hope for you." Then, we hear the voice
of the advocate, "Keep trying, God loves you, you're okay." Don't listen
to the voice of the accuser. Listen to the voice of the advocate, the one
that tells you "I love you, keep trying, you'll be okay."
Finally, let me make a suggestion. It's a very Jewish idea but we heard
it in the scriptures today. The Jews have a tradition of doing what they
call a mitzvah. It means a secret act of goodness for someone else. I would
encourage you throughout Lent to do a mitzvah. Perhaps pick someone you know
and love and pray for them throughout the whole time of Lent. Get a picture
of them, so that you can keep it in your prayer book or your Lenten devotion
book and pray for them everyday. Or do a special act of kindness or generosity
for someone and don't let them know you're doing it. That's part of the deal.
You heard in the scriptures a few times today; don't be blasting your good
works. Keep it a secret and do a mitzvah for someone--maybe someone I said
you love, maybe someone you don't like, your boss, and your group leader.
No one likes group leaders. Do a mitzvah for your group leader.
We need Lent don't we? Amen. Let these 40 days bring us closer to God and
closer to each other. That is our prayer today, through Christ our Lord.
Amen.