Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 6, 1-6, 16-18

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Take care not to perform righteous deeds
in order that people may see them;
otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father.
When you give alms,
do not blow a trumpet before you,
as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets
to win the praise of others.
Amen, I say to you,
they have received their reward.
But when you give alms,
do not let your left hand know what your right is doing,
so that your almsgiving may be secret.
And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.

“When you pray,
do not be like the hypocrites,
who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on street corners
so that others may see them.
Amen, I say to you,
they have received their reward.
But when you pray, go to your inner room,
close the door, and pray to your Father in secret.
And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.

“When you fast,
do not look gloomy like the hypocrites.
They neglect their appearance,
so that they may appear to others to be fasting.
Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward.
But when you fast,
anoint your head and wash your face,
so that you may not appear to be fasting,
except to your Father who is hidden.
And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you.”

We rise from the ashes

1. The ashes. They remind us of what we are. We shouldn’t believe that we are more than others. May Lent, that we begin today, show you that the way is humility. You cannot walk through life with arrogance and showing yourself as the one who knows it all. The ashes talk to you of humility and they point out that you must begin a change but, for a change in actions, there must be a change in your mentality concerning your way of living. That’s why today you are reminded that you are dust and to dust you will return, that this life is fleeting.

2. Fasting, prayer, and almsgiving: This is the time for repentance, which is a process. It’s not the time to start a diet, nor is it the time to do mortifications just for the sake of it. You can’t just plan to give up eating this Lent and then walk around with a temper that not even your guardian angel can put up with you. During Lent, the spirit must overcome your worldly and disorderly passions. That’s why the proposal is to work on our will and our spirit. If you don’t put spirituality into these forty days, you will feel that everything is a burden. Work on your will and your spirituality, these are two keys to live a good Lent. 

3. Proposals. During Lent, fasting is not reduced to not eating meat. Fast from negative comments, from gossiping about the life of others, from complaining… Fast from using your cell phone all day long. Fast from hurting others with your tongue or watching things that do not contribute anything to your life. No one must impose on you the way to fast this Lent, but I do propose that you look inside of you and reflect on what you see, check what things are not contributing and helping your life. It is the time to make a change.  For example, how many hours are you on Facebook or Instagram? 

Almsgiving also implies that you let go, that you go through your clothes and give away those you no longer wear, for example. That’s great but take a step further. Be more humane and give a little more of your time, your profession, or your service to others. It would also help that when someone talks to you, you look at them and not at your cell phone screen, or that you visit someone who is going through a tough time and lend them a hand or even that you give your seat to someone on the bus or train.

Prayer is crucial here. Let’s come back to Jesus and let’s repent from the bottom of our hearts for everything we have done wrong, for having done things that did not help us and that have hurt our brother or sister. 

Today we begin one of the most intense times of the year, but please, be honest with yourself. You can deceive me and even tell me that you won’t eat Nutella, you won’t drink coke or wine during the whole of Lent, and that seems perfect to me. But be honest with yourself, don’t fool yourself. Lent is much more than that, it means returning to Jesus.

Remember that something good is on the way!  May God bless you and be with you in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.