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To see the day’s scripture reading and reflection, click the arrow next to the date.
Ash Wednesday – March 5, 2025
By Sister Lillian Jordan, Belmont, North Carolina, United States
Even now, says the LORD,
Joel 2:12-18
return to me with your whole heart,
with fasting, and weeping, and mourning;
Rend your hearts, not your garments,
and return to the LORD, your God.
The ashes we receive today are a sign of both our beginning and our destination as corporeal beings. What matters is the time in between and the realization of what is important.
Ashes are a reminder for us that all we are comes from God, and that what we become depends on our openness to God’s unconditional love in our lives and our response to the example of Christ’s life, death and resurrection – Christ’s complete gift of himself to us.
Our Lenten journey calls us to focus on what really is important, to get to the heart of the matter. In today’s reading from the Prophet Joel, we hear the admonition to rend our hearts, not our garments. The external signs of our commitment to conversion – fasting, prayer and almsgiving – are integral to our Lenten observance. More importantly, the change of heart speaks of the challenging inner journey of conversion that brings us to fullness of life. While our attention to this truth is heightened during the Season of Lent, it is a daily conversion to which we are called in all seasons. Joel continues, “Even now, says the Lord, repent and return to me.” Put away what separates you from me and be mine.
In response to that loving call we accept the responsibility to broaden our vision to include all God’s people, and indeed, all of creation.
Pope Francis speaks about the heart in his Encyclical “The Human and Divine Love of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ”:
Reconciliation and peace are also born of the heart. The heart of Christ is ‘ecstasy’; openness, gift and encounter. In the heart we learn to relate to one another in wholesome and happy ways, and to build up in the world God’s kingdom of love and justice. Our hearts, united with the heart of Christ, are capable of working this societal miracle (Article 28).
May this Lenten Season be one of graced days of heartening conversion.
Day 2 – March 6, 2025
By Elsa Cromarty, Associate, East Coast Demerara, Guyana
Then he said to all,
Luke 9:23-25
“If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself
and take up his cross daily and follow me.
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.
What profit is there for one to gain the whole world
yet lose or forfeit himself?”
As the world turns, there is a shift in values which causes a disconnect among us, others and the environment. Instant gratification has become the norm. And in some ways, life has become “easier.” The comfort of the world has a strong pull as it reshapes our existence.
This passage invites us to take a hard look at our priorities. It forces us to ask: what are we holding onto? What does our life say about our values? Do we live in a way that reflects a surrender to God’s will, or are we constantly trying to protect ourselves from discomfort, pain and loss? Are we focused on gaining the world or on following the path God, our creator, sets for us?
Do we trust God enough to let go of the things we cling to for security, and instead, trust that as followers of Christ, we find the life we were always meant to live? This reading is an invitation to experience life not by clinging to it, but by giving it away in faith, knowing that God is the one who truly satisfies. In this way, not only is our relationship with our creator enriched, but our understanding of who we are and why we exist deepens.
In this reflection, we are called to live each day in a way that reflects Christ’s love, sacrificially and selflessly. We must choose Christ over comfort, service over self, and life everlasting over instant pleasure that is so fleeting.
Day 3 – March 7, 2025
By Sister Elva De Castro, Zamboanga City, Philippines
Do you call this a fast,
Isaiah 58:5-7
a day acceptable to the LORD?
This, rather, is the fasting that I wish:
releasing those bound unjustly,
untying the thongs of the yoke;
Setting free the oppressed,
breaking every yoke;
Sharing your bread with the hungry,
sheltering the oppressed and the homeless;
Clothing the naked when you see them,
and not turning your back on your own.
Today, we engage in a discernment inquiry centered around the question: “Why do we fast?” This echoes the question posed by John’s disciples to Jesus: “Why do we and the Pharisees fast, while your disciples do not?”
These questions invite us to discern our motivations for observing Lenten fasting. Are we motivated by self-interest, or does the merciful Jesus inspire us? These reflections also lead us to examine the fruits of our fasting, as highlighted in Matthew 7:15: “By their fruits, you shall know them.”
With the guidance of Isaiah (58:3-4, 6-7), we can distinguish between the fruits of fasting driven by ego and a fast rooted in the love and mercy of God. The former diminishes the dignity of the suffering people of God, while the latter seeks to restore it.
Therefore, we fast for the love of mercy, to heighten our spiritual awareness of the suffering of others, and to commit ourselves to actions that restore the dignity of the suffering people of God.
Day 4 – March 8, 2025
By Sister Rayleen Giannotti, Cumberland, Rhode Island, United States
Jesus saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at the customs post.
Luke 5:27-32
He said to him, “Follow me.”
And leaving everything behind, he got up and followed him.
Then Levi gave a great banquet for him in his house,
and a large crowd of tax collectors
and others were at table with them.
The Pharisees and their scribes complained to his disciples, saying,
“Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”
Jesus said to them in reply,
“Those who are healthy do not need a physician, but the sick do. I have not come to call the righteous to repentance but sinners.”
Two words, “follow me,” changed Levi’s life. Scripture tells us that Jesus, the physician, called; Levi left everything behind, got up, and followed. Do you remember the first time you heard the call, Christ’s call to your heart? Perhaps there was a pause, a hesitation, a question: “Can I do this?” Yet, something impelled your yes, your trust in God’s grace. You followed.
Reflecting on a time when the “call” was so strong and evident may well serve us today. Today is a new day; and we are certainly not as young as when we first responded with our resounding yes to Christ’s call. Yet, I dare say that today’s response to Christ’s invitation to “follow me” is as critical and maybe more critical as the first time we “left everything behind, got up, and followed Jesus.” Then, maybe, the “Pharisees” and the “scribes” of our day will complain about you and me.