Ash Wednesday Sermon - 2.14.24
LATIN MASS
LESSON: Joel 2:12 Now therefore saith the Lord: Be converted to Me with all your heart, in fasting, and in weeping, and in mourning. 13 And rend your hearts, and not your garments, and turn to the Lord your God: for He is gracious and merciful, patient and rich in mercy, and ready to repent of the evil. 14 Who knoweth but He will return, and forgive, and leave a blessing behind Him, sacrifice and libation to the Lord your God? 15 Blow the trumpet in Sion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly, 16 Gather together the people, sanctify the church, assemble the ancients, gather together the little ones, and them that suck at the breasts: let the bridegroom go forth from his bed, and the bride out of her bride chamber.
17 Between the porch and the altar the priests the Lord's ministers shall weep, and shall say: Spare, O Lord, spare Thy people: and give not Thy inheritance to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them. Why should they say among the nations: Where is their God? 18 The Lord hath been zealous for His land, and hath spared His people. 19 And the Lord answered and said to His people: Behold I will send you corn, and wine, and oil, and you shall be filled with them: and I will no more make you a reproach among the nations.
Our Lord is overflowing with mercy towards all who repent and turn to Him. As we begin this journey of 40 days in the desert, these 40 days of Lent, let us all once more repent of our sins and prepare ourselves in body and spirit for Him. It is time for prayer, for fasting, for abstinence, for almsgiving and for works of charity.
Look to the seven corporal works of mercy and the seven spiritual works of mercy. Try to perform some of these good works during this Lent. Challenge yourself to truly go into the desert.
GOSPEL: Matthew 6:16 And when you fast, be not as the hypocrites, sad. For they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Amen I say to you, they have received their reward. 17 But thou, when thou fastest anoint thy head, and wash thy face; 18 That thou appear not to men to fast, but to thy Father who is in secret: and thy Father who seeth in secret, will repay thee. 19 Lay not up to yourselves treasures on earth: where the rust, and moth consume, and where thieves break through and steal. 20 But lay up to yourselves treasures in Heaven: where neither the rust nor moth doth consume, and where thieves do not break through, nor steal. 21 For where thy treasure is, there is thy heart also.
This passage seems contradictory to the ashes that we place on our foreheads today. In reality though, this is not the case. There are times for corporate or group prayer and penance, and times for private prayer and penance. Our Lord here is condemning the practice of signaling your virtue to others rather than trying to obey God so He can make you virtuous. Just as we have corporate prayer through the Mass and other liturgies, we have private prayer we need to make. One does not contradict the other.
Our Lord is condemning the sin of pride, not acts of communal penance like ashes for Lent and other acts of piety.
NOVUS ORDO
OLD TESTAMENT: Joel 2:12 Yet even now, says the Lord, return to Me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; 13 rend your hearts and not your clothing. Return to the Lord, your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and relents from punishing. 14 Who knows whether He will not turn and relent, and leave a blessing behind Him, a grain offering and a drink offering for the Lord, your God? 15 Blow the trumpet in Zion; sanctify a fast; call a solemn assembly; 16 gather the people. Sanctify the congregation; assemble the aged; gather the children, even infants at the breast. Let the bridegroom leave his room, and the bride her canopy.
17 Between the vestibule and the altar let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep. Let them say, “Spare Your people, O Lord, and do not make Your heritage a mockery, a byword among the nations. Why should it be said among the peoples, ‘Where is their God?’” 18 Then the Lord became jealous for His land, and had pity on His people.
Call a solemn assembly. Gather the people. This is the time of year when we truly try to focus on penance and contrition for our sins in a way that is more focused than our usual penance. It’s important to take time to truly slow down and spend time asking God for His mercy. We must never commit the sin of presumption, where we take the forgiveness and mercy of God for granted.
NEW TESTAMENT: 2 Corinthians 5:20 So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making His appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.
6:1 As we work together with Him, we urge you also not to accept the grace of God in vain. 2 For He says, “At an acceptable time I have listened to you, and on a day of salvation I have helped you.” See, now is the acceptable time; see, now is the day of salvation!
Be reconciled to God and do not accept the grace of God in vain. God can grant you His grace, but if you refuse to be penitent and you refuse to humble yourself, it will be in vain. You will have no salvation if you take His grace in vain. Today is a day acceptable to God for your salvation!
GOSPEL: Matthew 6:1 “Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in Heaven. 2 “So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. 3 But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your alms may be done in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
5 “And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. 6 But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
16 “And whenever you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces so as to show others that they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. 17 But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18 so that your fasting may be seen not by others but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
Do not be prideful in your good works. We have been given eternal salvation from God and infinite blessing from Him. All He asks in return is our obedience, our faithfulness and our good works through the Holy Spirit. That’s a pretty good bargain. So the choice is before you every single day. To whom will you serve? Will you serve God, or will you serve the demons? Choose wisely.
Thank you 🙏📿….and so Lent begins. I will pray for you and this Apostalate. Please say a prayer for me. This journey is very important for all of us.