Ash Wednesday (2016)

 God's Mercy

I attended the Ash Wednesday Mass on 10 February at the Holy Family Church in Singapore. By receiving ashes on our foreheads, we are called to repent; to examine our guilt and fears; to reconciliation; to walk towards a closer union with God and to experience His love and mercy. 

Ash Wednesday in the Catholic liturgical calender marks the beginning of the Lenten fast; it is not a day for us to feel sad or solemn; on the contrary, it should be a day of happiness because we are given the opportunity to reconcile with God, to reaffirm our friendship with Him and in so doing, experience the joy of His forgiveness. 

The 40-day penitential journey that culminates in the Easter celebration is a time of preparation. Through Scripture, prayer and an inward reflection of ourselves and the lives we are leading; examining our relationship with our families, friends and neighbours, we are able to be aware of the areas where we can change to be a better person. In fasting and works of charity (alms-giving), we identify with the poor in our society and know that they too are God's children in need of our help, our smile, our love. 

As the Catechumens are being prepared for their baptism, we too are made ready through penance and conversion of our hearts so as to continue our sacramental life in communion with the rest of the church. It is important in this journey of spiritual growth that we understand what it is that we are celebrating...we desire, together with the Church to share in the Paschal Mystery - the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Christ...the core of our belief... to share in the joy and light of a victory won for our salvation.       

                   The liturgy of Ash Wednesday is not focussed on the sinfulness of
                   the penitent but on the mercy of God. The question of sinfulness
                   is raised  precisely because this is a day of mercy.
                                                                -Thomas Merton-