Today marks the start of the season of Lent—the annual gift we share that enables each one of us to make a fresh and exciting start. As we clean out our homes during the annual spring clean, through prayer, fasting and good works, we can cleanse our lives of those things that keep us from developing a full relationship with God and others. Our Lent should also put us into an honest evaluation of our personal spirituality and recognise those areas of our personal life that inhibit that full relationship with God and others. Lent invites us to have a long and hard good look at ourselves and wipe away that which causes harm.

Ash Wednesday was so different only last year in 2021 with personal contact forbidden. With most of the restrictions now lifted, there will still be many, for varying reasons, who will still be frightened. We have to respect everyone who comes to Church in person or online. We are slowly coming back to a 'new normal' that will take some time to become comfortable with. As the ashes fall gently on your head today, let it be a symbol of the enveloping love of God resting on you. We really do not need a smudgy black cross on our foreheads to show who we are. Today our gospel tells us to enjoy our fast-no gloomy faces are allowed! Matthew encourages us to be positive and bring God's radiant light to all we meet during this time of Lent. Today we embark on an exciting Camino or pilgrimage that will take us through highs and lows: from temptation and sharing a Eucharistic meal, to passion, death and, ultimately, glory through Resurrection.

As you begin your fast, is it going to be an excuse to lose that lockdown weight? We are invited to share a real fast that is going to be more than not having chocolate or a glass of beer. We might have to fast from jealousy, anger, selfishness and gossiping. We might have to go out of ourselves, in making an outreach to others. As the Holy Father reminds us, a good Lenten fast is not selfish:

Does my fast help others? If it does not it's fake, it's inconsistent and it takes you on the path to a double life, pretending to be a just Christian - like the Pharisees or the Sadducees

Author: Fr Gerry O'Shaughnessy SDB
Image: Tim Wildsmith on Unsplash