Father Nathan Homily | Ash Wednesday|
February 17, 2021
Ash Wednesday
Even now, says the LORD,
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.
For gracious and merciful is he,
slow to anger, rich in kindness,
and relenting in punishment.”— Joel 2:12-13
Ash Wednesday
Today’s Readings:
First Reading — Jl 2:12-18
Responsorial Psalm — Ps 51:3-4, 5-6ab, 12-13, 14 and 17
Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
Second Reading — 2 Cor 5:20—6:2
Gospel Reading — Mt 6:1-6, 16-18
Lent is not just a period of “fulfilling an obligation imposed on us by the church,” during this period of the year. Rather, it marks the beginning of an important part of our salvific history. It is truly a season of re-living or re-enacting the entire Paschal Mystery of Christ. On Ash Wednesday we express our love for God through the spiritual exercises of prayers, almsgiving, and fasting.
Paul calls this season:
“A moment of grace, a favorable time, very acceptable time, most lovable time, and of course, the day of salvation.”
Hence he admonished us to make use of this season in order to reconcile ourselves with both men and God. Like our first reading, the gospel reminds us of the most important virtues of this season: “almsgiving, prayer and fasting.” Not only did it highlight these virtues, it also reminds us that our Lenten observance must be carried out with humility.
On Ash Wednesday we express our love for God through the spiritual exercises of prayers, almsgiving, and fasting. It is a time when we make sacrifices of subduing the pleasures of the flesh in order to purify the soul. Yes, Lent is a matter of the heart as it affords us the opportunity to renew our hearts. In his Lenten message for 2021 Pope Francis says
“Lent is a time for believing, for welcoming God into our lives and allowing him to “make his dwelling” among us (cf. Jn 14:23).
Fasting involves being freed from all that weighs us down – like consumerism or an excess of information, whether true or false – in order to open the doors of our hearts to the
One who comes to us, poor in all things, yet “full of grace and truth” (Jn 1:14): the Son of God our Saviour.”
Let us pray that during this holy season, God will enkindle in our hearts the fire of his love. I wish you a very fruitful Lenten season. Amen
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Past Messages from Father Nathan
From The Desk Of Father Nathan | November 17, 2024
Pope Pius XI instituted this feast of Christ the King in 1925 with his encyclical “Quas Primas” (“In the First”) to respond to growing secularism and atheism.
From The Desk Of Father Nathan | November 10, 2024
With Great Sadness, I Pass on the News that Andrew Reid, our long-time choir Director, has passed Away. Cherish Life.
From The Desk Of Father Nathan | November 03, 2024
3 Important Things. Special Healing Mass will be held on November 3. The celebration will include mass, the rosary, and the anointing of the sick. Welcome back seasonal parishioners and an update on Andrew Reid our choir director.
From The Desk Of Father Nathan | October 27, 2024
3 Important Things. Special Healing Mass will be held on November 3. The celebration will include mass, the rosary, and the anointing of the sick. Welcome back seasonal parishioners and an update on Andrew Reid our choir director.
From The Desk Of Father Nathan | October 20, 2024
It’s election mode time. Everything we say and do will be perceived with a political outlook. But at the same time as the Church, we need to be the voice of Christ. Mother Teresa on the “Great Destroyer of Peace – Abortion. The passage below is the voice of Mother Teresa at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington D.C. on February 5, 1994. I believe her wisdom and concerns are so relevant today. Here you go.
From The Desk Of Father Nathan | October 13, 2024
Father Nathan is hosting his annual Volunteer Appreciation Dinner on Sunday, October 20t at 5:00 p.m. in the parish hall.