Weekly Mass Discussion Thread #78.5

!catholics !christians Happy (somber?) Ash Wednesday!

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First Reading

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.

-Joel 2:12-18

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Responsorial Psalm

R. (see 3a) Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.

Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness;

in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense.

Thoroughly wash me from my guilt

and of my sin cleanse me.

R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.

For I acknowledge my offense,

and my sin is before me always:

"Against you only have I sinned,

and done what is evil in your sight."

R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.

A clean heart create for me, O God,

and a steadfast spirit renew within me.

Cast me not out from your presence,

and your Holy Spirit take not from me.

R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.

Give me back the joy of your salvation,

and a willing spirit sustain in me.

O Lord, open my lips,

and my mouth shall proclaim your praise.

R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.

-Psalm 51:3-4, 5-6ab, 12-13, 14, and 17

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Second Reading

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.

-2 Corinthians 5:20-6:2

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Verse Before the Gospel

If today you hear his voice,

harden not your hearts.

-Psalm 95:8

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Gospel

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."

-Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18

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Did you guys know that in the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, they have 180 mandatory fasting days for the laity, and 252 for the clergy? At that point I think it must get a little hard to not look gloomy .

The older I get the more I appreciate the seasons of Advent and especially Lent. The disruption it provides to my normal routine is good for getting me to look at my life from a bird's-eye view. What have I done in the past year? How have I improved or worsened in my spiritual life?

The reading from Joel provides good context for fasting. I had been previously aware of its use as a personal devotion and exercise in temperance, but I hadn't thought of the significance of the whole Church fasting together. It's a collective statement of faith and thanksgiving, that by God's grace so many of us can afford to go hungry temporarily, but also of penance, that we as a collective have sinned gravely and are asking for God's forgiveness.