17 February 2021
ASH WEDNESDAY ST JUDE CATHOLIC CHURCH
PEARL, MS
PRAYER
Heavenly Father, look upon me and hear my prayer as I being this holy Season of Lent. I pray that you inspire met this Lenten season as I follow the Lenten disciplines and seek a renewal in spirit. I know that without You I can do nothing. By your spirit, help me to know what is right and to be eager to do your will. Teach me to find new life through penance. Keep me from sin, and help me live by your commandment of love.
God of love, bring me back to You. Send your spirit to make me strong in faith and active in works of charity. May my acts of penance bring me your forgiveness and open my heart to your love. Lord, during this Lenten Season, nourish me with your word of life and make me one with you in love and prayer. Fill my heart with your love and keep me faithful to the Gospel of Christ.
Merciful Lord, give me the grace to rise above my human weakness. Give me new life by your Sacraments, especially the Mass.
Father, source of life, I reach out with joy to grasp your hand. Let me walk more readily in your ways. Guide me in your mercy, for left to myself I cannot do your will.
Father of love, source of all blessings, help me to pass from my old life of sin to the new life of grace. Prepare me for the glory of Your Kingdom. I ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever. Amen.
Readings for Ash Wednesday
A reading from the prophet Joel
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.
Psalm 51
R. 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.
A reading from the second letter of St Paul to the Corinthians:
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.
Verse Before the Gospel: If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
A reading from the Holy Gospel according to St Matthew:
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.”
REFLECTION
Today, Ash Wednesday, is a day of prayer and fasting. It marks the beginning of the holy season of Lent. We priests are edified by the crowds of the faithful who are drawn to our Masses on Ash Wednesday, for this day is not a holy day of obligation and it falls right in the middle of the week. Many who do not come to Mass regularly on Sunday still want to come to church on Ash Wednesday. The message of Ash Wednesday has deep resonance on the lives of the faithful. Even though most of us are not able to get to Mass this Ash Wednesday because of the harsh winter conditions in Mississippi, these reading and prayers we have today give us a way to commemorate Ash Wednesday this year.
For many of us Christians, Ash Wednesday may take on a deeper meaning this year. It was in the middle of Lent last year that most of our lives were upended by the pandemic. As we mourn those who were lost this past year, as we acknowledge the challenges and sufferings we have endured this past year, we are reminded daily of our own mortality. As we see hope in the vaccines that many in our society are starting to receive, may we also find hope in the promise of Christ’s resurrection and the new life it offers all of us.
Ash Wednesday marks the first day of the 40 days of Lent, a time we dedicate to prayer, fasting, and reflection in preparation for the celebration of Christ’s Paschal Mystery in the Easter Triduum. Let is a time for us to refocus our lives and to re-examine the truths of our faith. It is in our commemoration of the Lenten and Easter seasons that we commemorate our true identity as disciples of Christ.
Ash Wednesday is the perfect way to start this holy season that calls us into self-examination, self-denial, and a contemplation of the mystery and grace of God's mercy. Lent calls us to give to those in need in acts of service and charity, to give them hope, sustenance, and comfort. This has been a tough year for us in many ways. We have seen a lot of violence and division in our country. We have had many challenges and changes in the workplace, in schools, in our churches, and in the places that we frequent in daily life. Many of us have felt isolated and overworked. Just like the season of Advent right before Christmas, Lent helps us to look at life and to put it into perspective. The prophet Joel asks us to rend our hearts, not our garments, and to return to the Lord. As Lent begins, may the Lord help us turn our hearts to him. Let the ashes that mark us today remind us of the need of repentance and conversion. May our repentance be humble, and sincere. May our prayers be open to your guidance and grace, O Lord. May our acts of charity be generous and gracious, without restriction or conditions. During this holy season of Lent, may our loving God lead us on the path of holiness.
To close out the reflection time to commemorate Ash Wednesday, you and your family members may trace the sign of the cross on each other’s foreheads.
Blessings to all of you this Ash Wednesday. Father Lincoln
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