Dear People of God,
It is 02nd March 2022. We celebrate Ash Wednesday to begin an interior journey that leads to God and reconcile with one another.
We reflect Joel 2:12-18; 2 Cor 5:20 – 6:2 and Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18.
Let us travel these days to reflect and return to the Lord as close as we can during the most merciful time of God in our life. We travel right within to spend more time with the Lord and to examine the areas that requires God’s blessings. It is the time to realize God’s love, to repent and review our lives, and a time to be at peace with God and one another. It is also a moment to unmask, to revive the drooping spirit and sense and to remember all that God has done.
Our beloved Mother Church invites us to concentrate on Prayer, fasting and giving alms. As God comes closer to us even though we are broken and bruised by the slashes of sin, let us make effort to come closer to God.
God is not looking from us rigorous and extreme ways of mortification rather recognize God’s love and mercy is so abundant to experience and share with others what we have.
As thousands have lost lives, homes, dreams, peace, and protection in the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine. Peace and protection are from the Lord and humanity have failed to give it as it constantly deprives it to others.
It is a moment to nurture the habits of prayer and penance.
The Holy Father Pope Francis has declared March 2, Ash Wednesday as a Day of Prayer for fasting and peace as he urged the faithful to pray for peace in Ukraine.
It is time to flush out our toxic thoughts, words, and actions. Accelerating sweetening and soothing actions that are helpful to humanity at large and especially those individuals who have made us suffer, suffocate, and submerge in humiliation.
Lent is time to prepare for celebrating Easter, the centrifugal point of our faith. It begins this year today 02nd March ends on 17th April. It is the time to give back to God, neighbour and to give up all that we have so attached addictively.
The prophet Joel invites us to return to God now with all our hearts with the interior conversion and renunciation rather than changing something to show off. God is not interested in our tears and tearing of our garments but a sincere and contrite heart that humbles before God. May our fast be of use not only to us but to benefit humanity.
RETURN TO ME NOW. NOW IS THE ACCEPTABLE TIME; SEE, NOW IS THE DAY OF SALVATION. TIME OF FASTING,
Through the ash we placed on ourselves, we are reminded of where come from, where possible can be and where we will all return. “Remember you are dust and to dust you shall return.” We came from dust, we can become dusty by many things, and surely one day we will return to the dust. St Augustine calls this time, “an exercise of holy desire.” We are not born to be in the dusty but to participate in the glory of the resurrection of Jesus. God wants to dust off our unholy dust with this holy dust.
The call to conversion is directed to us individually. Whatever the status we are in now in our life, we are to respond to this call so urgently. God wants to do something good in our personal and relational life during this time.
May we truly be serious this year with our personal repentance and conversion. May we reduce the distance between the wants of God and our insatiable desires. May you all have a peaceful and reconciling moment with God and one another.