In our reading from Isaiah today in the days of Lent right after Ash Wednesday, we hear about fasting, about repenting for our sins, about wearing sackcloth and ashes to publicly declare the desire to repent and change our hearts. We all just received ashes on our foreheads this past Wednesday, as we were told to turn away from sin and to believe in the Gospel. Yet, that smudge of ash on our foreheads does not matter much if we do not practice peace and justice in our lives. Isaiah suggests that we sharing our food with the hungry, help shelter the poor and the oppressed, and clothe the naked as a part of our fast, in the practice of peace and justice.
I have heard some people mock our Lenten disciplines of prayer, fasting, and good works. However, these Lenten disciplines are there for a reason. They are what God desires of us. Hopefully, these disciplines will work hand-in-hand to change our hearts, to change our lives, to change our actions. On Ash Wednesday, Pope Francis asked us to engage in a special day of prayer and fasting due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in Europe.
As we begin our Lenten season, may we find disciplines that change our lives and help us live out the values of our faith that we proclaim. May our fasting and our Lenten rituals not become hollow and empty for us. It is easy to hide behind empty words. May our Lenten practice really change and convert our lives.
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