Homily for Friday after Ash Wednesday

For daily readings, see http://www.usccb.org/nab/020808.shtml

The reading from Isaiah tells us that of the three Lenten practices – prayer, fasting and almsgiving, that almsgiving is to have pride of place in helping us to return to God, and to recognize His presence in our lives. The first two Lenten practices, prayer and fasting, are worthwhile, to be sure, but they can perhaps more easily be focused on self. To be free of sins is to have the self-forgetfulness that comes from being involved in the mission of building the kingdom of Heaven. The more readily we find our joy in building God’s kingdom, the less often we will return to the smaller joys that our sins bring us. The advice from Isaiah seems to go like this, if you want to escape your sins, don’t focus on yourself, it will only backfire – focus on others. For this reason, almsgiving should play at least an equal role to prayer and fasting, without neglecting any of the three. The most common way to give alms during Lent is to participate in the Rice Bowl, which reaches out to the poor through the work of Catholic Charities.
Even as we pray, fast and give alms during Lent, we do not really fast because we have Jesus with us along our Lenten journey. We do not, thankfully, have to fast from Mass, which would be the most sacrificial thing imaginable. Even as we go through Lent, we still have the bridegroom with us, and every Mass is still a celebration of the suffering, death, and yes, the resurrection of Jesus. This is why Sundays of Lent are, strictly speaking, not days of fasting, because even in Lent, we celebrate that the bridegroom is truly risen from the dead and that he has won the final victory over sin and death! Knowing this should make it even easier to follow the advice of Matthew, who told us on Ash Wednesday to go through Lent without appearing to be praying, fasting or giving alms, but to go through Lent joyfully. This is a special time to return to God with all our hearts. It is not a time to be gloomy and to complain. Jesus is there to support us – he makes fasting easy. For man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God!