DIOCESE OF GALLUP

Ash Wednesday

February 9, 2005



My Dear Friends,



A lot of people around the world are fasting, weeping and mourning right now. But not by choice. Watch the evening news each day! People live in dire poverty or suffer unimaginable grief. I think of the horrific tsunami disaster or what is happening day after day in Iraq. Many people are covered with ashes - from car bombs, street battles, “precision bombings.” Others worry increasingly about the growing potential of cities covered in ashes from weapons of mass destruction as the arms race continues unabated.

The signs of this penitential season are, indeed, mixed messages.

Or maybe not. Perhaps there is a deep connection between fasting, weeping, suffering and dangers of the times and this Lenten season, this Ash Wednesday. Perhaps we can embrace these ambiguous signs in ways that help us better appreciate and interface with the many layers and realities of life. Perhaps this Lent calls us as a community of believers to become worthy to stand in solidarity with the suffering world that Jesus embraced in his own living and dying.

Lent is often approached as a private endeavor. Jesus’ urging in Matthew’s Gospel to practice almsgiving, prayer and fasting in secret gives credence to personal, private acts of penitence. No doubt Jesus’ instruction today is a corrective to the displays of righteousness from the Scribes and the Pharisees. Public display - whether to appease God or to earn others’ admiration - is not what genuine penitence is about.



On the other hand, in a kind of tension with this personal approach, Joel - in the first reading - proclaims a call to communal penitence. The whole assembly of people, regardless of age or life circumstances, is summoned by God to enter into fasting and to return to God’s steadfast love.

The invitation is extended to the community.

Accepting ashes on this day, can be a sign of communal choice, even though the ashes mark each of us individually.

So there are a couple of interesting challenges on this Ash Wednesday. One is whether our parish community, our Cathedral parish community might look at the rigors of penitence in a larger way that could speak to the world without being self serving. The other is: What might be viable signs of this choice that go beyond mere ritual? How could the church “cover itself in ashes?”



Perhaps our communal almsgiving could be something like contributing out of parish funds that have been intended for the parish’s own use.

We might practice penitence by establishing a new parish ministry or witness that brings discomfort to the community or even the diocese. Daring penitential acts could possibly generate disagreement among parishioners. But it may be necessary to experience some pain to alleviate the pain of others. A penitential act should be uncomfortable, but not an end in itself. Somehow, it makes more sense for Lenten discomfort to be a by product of choosing to serve others.

That kind of pain speaks with a certain integrity that would never be labeled “hypercritical.”

Embracing the penitential acts of Lent means little if they don’t result in change. Personal change is always good, but think how much more powerful visible change in the whole community could be, especially if that change involved choosing to fast, weep and mourn with those who do so without choice. How awesome it would be to see a church “covered with ashes,” standing as a sign against the profound violence that causes anguish for so many men, women and children. If there were ever a more acceptable time for collective repentance, for acting as ambassadors for Christ to the world, it’s hard to imagine when that might be.

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	Ash Wednesday February 9, 2005 My Dear Friends, A lot of people around the world are fasting, weeping and mourning right now. But not by choice. Watch the evening news each day! People live in dire poverty or suffer unimaginable grief. I think of the horrific tsunami disaster or what is happening day after day in Iraq. Many people are covered with ashes - from car bombs, street battles, “precision bombings.” Others worry increasingly about the growing potential of cities covered in ashes from weapons of mass destruction as the arms race continues unabated. The signs of this penitential season are, indeed, mixed messages. Or maybe not. Perhaps there is a deep connection between fasting, weeping, suffering and dangers of the times and this Lenten season, this Ash Wednesday. Perhaps we can embrace these ambiguous signs in ways that help us better appreciate and interface with the many layers and realities of life. Perhaps this Lent calls us as a community of believers to become worthy to stand in solidarity with the suffering world that Jesus embraced in his own living and dying. Lent is often approached as a private endeavor. Jesus’ urging in Matthew’s Gospel to practice almsgiving, prayer and fasting in secret gives credence to personal, private acts of penitence. No doubt Jesus’ instruction today is a corrective to the displays of righteousness from the Scribes and the Pharisees. Public display - whether to appease God or to earn others’ admiration - is not what genuine penitence is about. On the other hand, in a kind of tension with this personal approach, Joel - in the first reading - proclaims a call to communal penitence. The whole assembly of people, regardless of age or life circumstances, is summoned by God to enter into fasting and to return to God’s steadfast love. The invitation is extended to the community. Accepting ashes on this day, can be a sign of communal choice, even though the ashes mark each of us individually. So there are a couple of interesting challenges on this Ash Wednesday. One is whether our parish community, our Cathedral parish community might look at the rigors of penitence in a larger way that could speak to the world without being self serving. The other is: What might be viable signs of this choice that go beyond mere ritual? How could the church “cover itself in ashes?” Perhaps our communal almsgiving could be something like contributing out of parish funds that have been intended for the parish’s own use. We might practice penitence by establishing a new parish ministry or witness that brings discomfort to the community or even the diocese. Daring penitential acts could possibly generate disagreement among parishioners. But it may be necessary to experience some pain to alleviate the pain of others. A penitential act should be uncomfortable, but not an end in itself. Somehow, it makes more sense for Lenten discomfort to be a by product of choosing to serve others. That kind of pain speaks with a certain integrity that would never be labeled “hypercritical.” Embracing the penitential acts of Lent means little if they don’t result in change. Personal change is always good, but think how much more powerful visible change in the whole community could be, especially if that change involved choosing to fast, weep and mourn with those who do so without choice. How awesome it would be to see a church “covered with ashes,” standing as a sign against the profound violence that causes anguish for so many men, women and children. If there were ever a more acceptable time for collective repentance, for acting as ambassadors for Christ to the world, it’s hard to imagine when that might be. Back