Sirach,
Chapter 48, Verse 12
When Elijah was enveloped in the whirlwind, Elisha was filled with his
spirit; He worked twice as many marvels, and every utterance of his mouth was
wonderful. During his lifetime he feared
no one, nor was anyone able to intimidate his will.
Is there anything that
threatens or frightens you? Are there bullies or organizations (IRS) that scare
you? Does the threat of terrorism or the coercing by government out of control
worry you? Then welcome to the 21st Century. We need the spirit of
Elisha so that all may know that we feared no one in our lifetime and were not
daunted by threats nor were we overawed by demonstrations of power and that we are resolute in our following of the gospel.
O LORD, you have probed me and you know
me; you know when I sit and when I stand; you understand my thoughts from afar.
My journeys and my rest you scrutinize, with all my ways you are familiar. Even
before a word is on my tongue, behold, O LORD, you know the whole of it. Behind
me and before, you hem me in and rest your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too
wonderful for me; too lofty for me to attain. (Ps. 139:1-6)
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you
hypocrites. You pay tithes of mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the
weightier things of the law: judgment and mercy and fidelity. But these you
should have done, without neglecting the others. Blind guides, who strain out
the gnat and swallow the camel! “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you
hypocrites. You cleanse the outside of cup and dish, but inside they are full
of plunder and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee, cleanse first the inside of the
cup, so that the outside also may be clean.” (Mt. 23:23-26)
If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts. (Ps. 95:8)
Ash Wednesday
Why is
this day so called?
Because
on this day the Catholic Church blesses ashes and puts them on the foreheads of
the faithful, saying, “Remember, man, that thou art dust, and unto dust shalt
thou shall return” (Gen. iii. 19).
Why
are the ashes blessed?
1. That all who receive them with a contrite heart may
be preserved in soul and body. 2. That God may give them contrition, and pardon
their sins. 3. That He may grant them all they humbly ask for, particularly the
grace to do penance, and the reward promised to the truly penitent.
Why are
the faithful sprinkled with ashes?
The
sprinkling with ashes was always a public sign of penance; as such God enjoined
it upon the Israelites (Jer. xxv.
34).
David sprinkled ashes on his beard (Ps. ci. 10). The Ninivites (Jonas iii. 6),
Judith (Jud. ix. 1), Mardochai (Esther iv. 1), Job (xlii. 6), and others, did
penance in sack-cloth and ashes. To show the spirit of penance and to move God
to mercy, the Church, at the Introit of the Mass, uses the following words: “Thou
hast mercy upon all, O Lord, and hatest none of the things which Thou hast
made, and winkest at the sins of men for the sake of repentance, and sparing
them, for Thou art the Lord our God” (Wis. xi. 24, 25).
INSTRUCTION
ON LENT.
What
is the origin of fasting?
Under
the Old Law the Jews fasted by the command of God; thus Moses fasted forty days
and forty nights, on Mount Sinai, when God gave him the Ten Commandments;
Elias, in like manner, fasted in the desert. Jesus also fasted, and commanded His
apostles to fast also. The Catholic Church, says St. Leo, from the time of the
apostles, has enjoined fasting upon all the faithful.
Why
has the Church instituted the fast before Easter?
1. To imitate Jesus Christ, Who fasted forty days. 2.
To participate in His merits and passion; for as Christ could only be glorified
through His sufferings, so in order to belong to Him we must follow Him by a
life answering to His. 3. To subject the flesh to the spirit, and thus, 4,
prepare ourselves for Easter and the worthy reception of the divine Lamb. 5.
Finally, to offer to God some satisfaction for our sins, and, as St. Leo says,
to atone for the sins of a whole year by a short fast of the tenth part of a
year.
Was
the fast of Lent kept in early times as it is now?
Yes,
only more rigorously; for: 1. The Christians of the early ages abstained not
only from flesh-meat, but from those things which are produced from flesh, such
as butter, eggs, cheese, and also from wine and fish. 2. They fasted during the
whole day, and ate only after vespers, that is, at night.
How
shall we keep the holy season of Lent with advantage?
We
should endeavor not only to deny ourselves food and drink, but, still more, all
sinful gratifications. And as the body is weakened by fasting, the soul, on the
other hand, should be strengthened by repeated prayers, by frequent reception
of the holy sacraments, attending Mass, spiritual reading, and good works,
particularly those of charity. In such manner we shall be able, according to
the intention of the Church, to supply by our fasting what we have omitted
during the year, especially if we fast willingly, and with a good intention.
(Goffine’s Devout Instructions, 1896)
CCC571. The Paschal mystery
of Christ's cross and Resurrection stands at the center of the Good News that
the apostles, and the Church following them, are to proclaim to the world.
God's saving plan was accomplished "once for all" by the redemptive
death of his Son Jesus Christ.
CCC1171. In the liturgical
year the various aspects of the one Paschal mystery unfold. This is also the
case with the cycle of feasts surrounding the mystery of the incarnation (Annunciation,
Christmas, Epiphany). They commemorate the beginning of our salvation and
communicate to us the first fruits of the Paschal mystery of Christ.
It
is the same Paschal Mystery that we celebrate every Sunday at every Mass. This
mystery should evoke the ancient Passover of the Jews when the firstborn
children of Israel were spared and they were liberated from slavery. Their
delivery began in each household with the sacrifice of the lamb and the
smearing of the lamb’s blood on the doorposts which delivered the Jews out of
vice into virtue and the worship of God in sincerity and truth. In the Last Supper
Christ became the lamb that transformed his execution into a once for all
sacrifice. During Lent we mirror the Jews 40 years of purification when God
purged them of the residual effects of generations of interaction with Egyptian
Idolatry. Christ in His own life fasted for 40 days in the wilderness as a
model, like His baptism for His disciples to imitate. So, every year, we
prepare like Him for our Easter where we will offer our sacrifice, small as it
may be to Him. Lent is the season of fasting that begins today and ends on Holy
Saturday (except for Sundays; ancient Fathers forbade fasting on Sundays). This
is our tithe or a tenth part of our year for the Lord. We fast from “good”
things; for in our fast we give them to God, so that we learn not to put
anything before Him. We pray that by this movement of purification we
may be illuminated and finally come to union with Him. In a sense
during Lent we “pass over” from sin through penance to communion.[1]
[1]
Hahn, Scott, Signs of Life; 40 Catholic Customs and their biblical roots. Chap.
7. Lent and Easter.
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