PRIVATE PRAYER

Ash Wednesday

PRIVATE PRAYER

“But when you pray, go to your room, close the door, and pray to your Father, who is unseen. And your Father, who sees what you do in private, will reward you.” – Matthew 6:6

Jhen brought her son Rafael to enroll in another school. But he was asked to join the nursery class even if he was almost six years old.

The principal told her that the boy still had difficulty with basic concepts like counting and reading. This made Jhen sad. She knew that having her son repeat nursery would mean an extra year of tuition fees. Being a single mom, any form of savings would have been a big help to her family of four kids. But left with no options, she agreed.

Jhen was surprised when Rafael ended up in the top 5 after the first half of the school  year. By the end of the third quarter, he ranked number 2.

When she visited the school, the principal told her she was very happy with his improvement. Jhen was also touched when the principal revealed that she would pray regularly for Rafael’s improvement and was thankful to God for granting her request. Praying for a concern is more effective when it’s done in private, with God as your only witness. Alvin Fabella (alvinfabella@yahoo.com)

REFLECTION:

Find an isolated place today where you can have an intimate time with Jesus.

Lord, I want to know You in a deeper way. Reveal Yourself to me. Amen.

Now

The black dot or cross indicates that you have gone to church today. Unfortunately, there are many who just pass by the church to receive the ashes because everybody does so, but do not attend the Mass and don’t listen to the readings. I hope you are not one of them. The ash is a sacramental that should be received after listening to the Word of God and a short homily. At least that’s what the liturgical rules say. And it makes sense. Receiving a sacramental is not magic or superstition. A sacramental “works” only when the receiver has the right disposition. And what is the right disposition for receiving the ashes? The priest says while imposing the ashes, “Turn away from sin and believe in the Gospel.” (Or, “Remember, you are dust and to dust you will return.”)

Both words have profound implications. To turn away from sin I must take my time and acknowledge once more that I am a sinner. Something I cannot do in two minutes when I line up to receive the ashes and then run home or to the office. And I cannot believe in the Gospel if I do not even take time to listen to it on a day like Ash Wednesday. The readings chosen for today are excellent. Joel’s passage begins with, “Now, now…come back.” And St. Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “Well, now is the favorable time.” Three “nows.” That leads us to think, right? We tend to postpone and say, “tomorrow” or “next time na lang.” Be careful when you catch yourself postponing a good resolution. It makes the devil very happy.

And Jesus tells in the Gospel that what good we do, we should do in secret and not for show. If the ash on your forehead is only for show — you know what the Lord thinks of it. “Now is a favourable time….” We might have missed this chance more than once. But please, not this year. I don’t like to be morbid or scare you, but the reality is that there might be no tomorrow, no next week, no next time. Fr. Rudy Horst, SVD

Reflection Question:

Do I tend to postpone changes in my life? Do I tend to “forget” resolutions? Why? Am I afraid of changing?

Thank You, Lord, for giving us once more the holy time of Lent, a time to turn away from our sins and turn to You. Send Your Spirit to open our hearts so that we listen attentively to Your Word and have the courage to practice what we learn from You.

St. Benedict of Cagliari, pray for us.