Homily: Ash Wednesday

Readings: Joel 2:12-18; Ps 51; 2 Cor 5:20-6:2; Mt 6:1-6,16-18
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Gerard Manley Hopkins, S.J.

Gerard Manley Hopkins, the 19th Century Jesuit poet, frequently corresponded with the poet laureate of England, his friend Robert Bridges. In one of these letters, Bridges, an agnostic, asked Hopkins how he could learn to believe, expecting, I suppose, some deep theological answer.

Hopkins replied in a letter with only two words: "Give alms."

What a wonderful answer! Even though it was probably lost on Mr. Bridges. You see, in his own search for truth, a search that ultimately led him to the Catholic Church, Hopkins had learned something most people never grasp. He hoped to show his friend that the love of God is experienced most fully in our love for others.

Only in loving others that we recognize and experience the source and being of all love.

Only in loving others can we see in every other person the divine image.

Only in loving others can we come face to face with Jesus. 

How did Jesus put it? 

"...whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me" [Mt 25:40].

But Jesus didn't stop there, did He? For in today's passage from Matthew, He tells us not only to give alms, but to take it a step farther, to do what doesn't come naturally: He tells us to give alms in secret.

Imagine that? Being charitable but telling no one. Taking no credit for the good we do? No bows, no bouquets, no recognition, no thanks. Why, it's almost inhuman. Well...actually...it is inhuman, because it's what the Father wants, and He will repay us.

As we begin this Lenten season of repentance, this season when we look forward to the joy of Easter, let's remember that in giving up we're also called to give. But real almsgiving is a giving of ourselves, a giving of time, a giving of talent, a giving of our presence to others in need...

...to those who are ill and suffering

...to those who hunger and thirst, not only for food and drink but for the Word of God

...to those who are dying and afraid, who need the touch and reassurance of another

The opportunities are all around us, brothers and sisters. The question is: will we respond? Will we be the ambassadors for Christ that Paul says we are?

But Jesus talks about more than almsgiving, doesn't He?

He also calls us to prayer. And here too he tells us to act in secret, to withdraw from others, to pray to the Father in the intimacy that comes from contemplative prayer.

Public prayer, the faithful coming together, as we assemble here today, is a necessary and holy act. But as Christians we're also called into an intimate, personal relationship with God. Now that certainly takes place through the Communion we experience through the Eucharist. Indeed, can anything be more personal, more intimate?

But this relationship must also be continually reinforced through prayer, through the private prayer commanded by Our Lord. This is the kind of prayer that leads to the interior transformation for which we strive during Lent.

And that's not all. Jesus continues by telling us to fast; and here, too, He urges discretion, to fast without ostentation, to avoid praise.

Once again we're in conflict, because the world admires only the spectacular, even when it comes to sacrifice. It places little value on hidden and silent sacrifice.

The Church, then, following Jesus' command, fasts during Lent.

As a worldwide community of faith, then, we give alms, we pray, and we fast.

We recognize and turn away from our sinfulness.

We reject self-absorption and greed, hate and despair, and once again heed the first call of our baptism.

Pope Benedict, on the day he announced his resignation, wrote few words on his Twitter account:

"We must trust in the mighty power of God's mercy," he said. "We are all sinners, but His grace transforms us and makes us new."

Yes, we are all sinners, and only God's grace can transform us. Only through God's grace can we do as the Prophet Joel proclaims: "Rend your hearts..." [Jl 2:13] allowing God to tear open the secret places of our hearts so He can enter and be present to us. 

"Rend your heart..."

To rend our hearts: to see ourselves as God sees us, to let Him shows us our innermost being. And that can be a scary thing, to come face to face with the real me, to come to an understanding of who I really am. For whom do I live?  Do I live just for me, or do I live for the God who brought me into being? 

To rend our hearts: to open ourselves up to others because God's infinite love demands it.

To rend our hearts: to perform the great works of Lent - almsgiving, prayer and fasting.

Yes, we are all sinners, but we are still called to mirror God's love and forgiveness in our own lives. 

Lent is an opportunity to share in and alleviate the sufferings of others. But Lent is also an opportunity to be forgiven for our refusal to forgive; to be cured of our secret pride and hatreds.

"Repent, and believe in the Gospel" [Mk 1:15].

Moments from now, as your forehead is marked with the sacramental sign of ashes, you will hear those words of Jesus. 

Yes, indeed, we are called to repent and to believe the Good News, the promise of redemption, the gift of eternal life. 

We need only open our hearts to God's healing presence.