Fr. Paul D. Williams, Jr.
“Remember man that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”
Those are the words spoken when you receive your ashes today, and that is the reason we are here as we begin the season of Lent. That ashes remind us of one simple fact: without God, we are nothing. No matter what we do in this life – seeking fame, happiness, wealth, power, or long life – no matter what we do, in the end, we will return to dust. As Jesus once said, (Matthew 16:26), “ What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life?”
But worse yet, not only are we nothing without God, we have offended Him by our sins. As King David prayed in the Psalm, “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.’”
Well, is there any hope? Yes, there is, in Jesus Christ, as St. Paul said, “For our sakes God made him who did not know sin to be sin, so that in him we might become the very holiness of God.” And because of this great gift, our salvation offered to us through Jesus’ offering himself on the Cross, St. Paul implores us, “Be reconciled to God! We beg you not to receive the grace of God in vain.” Don’t look at the Cross and let its significance pass you by, don’t let this season of Lent pass without reconciling yourself to God, without turning from your sins and allowing the Lord to create you anew.
The Lord says through the prophet Joel: “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.”
Repentance begins within, rending our hearts not our garments. And that’s what Jesus teaches in the Sermon on the Mount, when he taught about the three traditional forms of penance: almsgiving, prayer, and fasting. We give alms, not for any worldly gain or tax write-off, or to receive the praise of men for how generous we are; we give alms for the sake of the Father in Heaven who sees in secret and will repay us. We pray not so that others may see our piety or how close we are to the Lord, but because we are children of a loving Father, who knows everything we need and wants to hear our prayers. We fast and wear ashes during Lent, not so that others may see it, but so that we will acknowledge to the Lord that all that is good comes from him and that we may mortify our desires for things of this world and set our sights on heaven alone.
As Lent begins, pray Psalm 51, and pray it often: “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.” “A clean heart create for me, O God, and a steadfast spirit renew within me.”
If we turn to the Lord in this way, he will answer our prayer, have mercy on us, cleanse us from our sins, and create us anew. For without him, we are nothing, but as Jesus says, With God, all things are possible.
