Meditation
for Ash Wednesday, 2023
(Joel
2:12-18; 2 Cor 5:20-6:2; Mt 6:1-6, 16-18)
The timing of the season of lent is timely! It is described as a ‘veritable time’, a ‘time of favor.’ The message and observances that are clustered in lent are not exclusive to the season. This is where some non-Catholics mistakenly think that Catholics observe fasting only during lent. At lent, we practice the observances, not just as individuals, but as the Body of Christ, the Church. Here, obedience goes ahead of our sacrifices. At this time, the Church leads, we learn and follow at the same time. Just as time is a continuum, and the liturgical seasons are not exclusive to each other, so also the observances of the 40 days of lent energize us onwards. The season of lent is ever timely for it comes to renew our commitment to the core values of our Christian life by redirecting our gaze to the cross of Christ.
“But the time will come when the
bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast” (Mt 9:15). Think about
such emptiness when Jesus, the Bridegroom, is not present. Sometimes our
choices and actions make our hearts, homes, church and society unconducive for
Jesus to settle in. Our fasting, prayer and almsgiving become practical
expressions of our inner yearning for salvation in Christ Jesus. Meditate on
how much Jesus wants to be part of our lives, families, and communities. Thus,
it is timely that we should set aside this time of lent to deny ourselves of
empty desires, repent of our waywardness, and align our heart desires with
Jesus’ thirst for us from the cross. The eternal desire of Jesus for our
salvation makes every Lenten season timely.
Oh! What a beautiful time lent is? It
is a time of fasting and abstinence that satisfies the heart. Lent is colored
with silence and solemnity, yet it drums joy and peace to the heart. As we kick
off this season with ashes on our foreheads, the 40 days appear to be stretched
forward, but at Easter, we appreciate every bit of the journey. Think about the
beauty of a penitent Church, wrapped in contrition, and kneeling with Mary at
the foot of the cross. There is no better time to make amends than now. “Behold,
now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” Amen.
Fr Jude Chinwenwa Nwachukwu, C.Ss.R
Saints Peter & Paul Catholic
Church,
Tedi-Muwo, Ojo, Lagos,
Wednesday February 22, 2023
