Ash Wednesday
February 26, 2020
Ps 51:3-6, 12-14, 17
2 Corinthians 5:20 — 6:2
Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18
www.usccb.org/bible/readings/022620.cfm
USCCB Podcast of the Readings:
ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/2020/20_02_26.mp3
“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?’”
There is an urgency to Repent and Believe in the Gospel today. As we see uncertainty rising all over the World , the Lord is calling us to repent and believe in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In the Old testament whenever the chosen race of Israelite’s sinned against the Lord, they were taken as captives by the Non Believers as slaves in to Exile. When they came in to their senses and repented for their sinfulness , God unconditionally forgave them and made their Pagan oppressors to return all their things which they had lost in their exile. In the new testament every believer is a chosen race of God , all Baptised people are called to live in holiness and truth . When the Baptised people sin against God or disobey the Gospel , Non Believers rise against God’s chosen race and rule over them in Violence and injustice. When a Baptised Christian repents and believes in the Gospel the Word of God , God subdues his enemy, and Prosperity and peace follows him.
Do God punish his people ? God does not punish his people but when a person stops following God’s instructions which keeps him safe and healthy and takes a wrong belief by trusting his own wisdom , he or she loses the God’s protection and peace and the Enemy takes over their life. The Enemy can be every possible Evil person, place, situation,ideology. If we try to fight this enemy in human wisdom and discipline we bring more troubles to our life. The only way to come back ( REPENT) to the instructions of the Lord ( Gospel) and we will be safe and healthy.
Lent is a season of Spiritual Warfare , when we repent and follow the Word of God we defeat the Enemy of our life. Why do the Church is calling us to Penance , Charity and Prayer. These three tools strengthen us to fight our battle against the state of life in which we live and come back to the mainstream of God’s love.
- Penance : Penance disciplines our Body , mind and Spirit. We must discipline all the five senses of our Body i.e. Taste, Touch, Smell, sight, hear. only fasting is not enough to control our five senses but we must avoid too much visual things(Sight), Worldly luxuries ( smell) Itching Ears to hear what we like-Gosip(Hear) , to feel god the worldly things( Touch)
- Charity : The senses of our mind – (senses of our souls): intuition, peace, foresight, trust, empathy . The acts of Charity like alms giving, Peace, self control, patience, Consideration, tolerance, forgiveness, Empathy strengthens a person to come out of evil possession of Anger, hatred, selfishness, confusion, revenge and unforgiveness
- Prayer: To control senses of the Spirit- Faith, Hope, Praise, Worship and reverence we must build a relationship with God in personal prayer , Praise & worship and Community Prayer. The above three tools control our 15 senses of the Body, mind and Spirit but Repentance and Believing in the saving act of Jesus Christ brings us back to the presence of Holy spirit where we can freely interact with the Holy Trinity. There is a great necessity to renew our Salvation Experience and be transformed in Spirit and truth. Our Complete Salvation or one with our Lord itself is the saving activity or acts of Evangelism towards our Non believing brothers and sisters. The Salvation is so much powerful , it is better than Heaven and earth itself. The power of Salvation brings down the enemy forces to subdue us and live in Beatitudes of Christ.
PRAYER REFLECTIONS 