depart from our normal programming today to celebrate the beginning of Lent. The beginning of Lent coincides with the imposition of ashes and this is a very special rite of penance which leads us to acknowledge our own poverty before God participate in this event through the brief history of the Ashes (taken from the site Saints & Blessed ), followed by the homily of Father Gian Franco Scarpitta that makes us understand the core, the heart of Lent:
The origin of Ash Wednesday is to be found in the ancient penitential practice. Originally, the sacrament of penance was not celebrated in accordance with current procedures. The liturgist Pelagius Visentin stresses that the development of penitential discipline is threefold: "to be a public celebration at a private celebration, a reconciliation with the Church, once granted, a frequent celebration of the sacrament, understood as an aid in remedy- life of the penitent, a sin, after the acquittal, prolonged and rigorous, with satisfaction, following the acquittal. "
The celebration of the ashes arises because of the public celebration of penance, it was the rite that began the process of penance the faithful who were absolved of their sins on the morning of Holy Thursday. Over time the gesture of the imposition of ashes is extended to all the faithful and the liturgical reform has decided to retain the importance of this sign.
Biblical theology reveals a dual meaning of the use of ashes.
1 - First of all, are a sign of weak and fragile human condition. Abraham turned to God says: "It is presumptuous to speak to my Lord, I who am dust and ashes ..." (Gen 18.27). Job recognizes the profound limits of its existence, with extreme prostration, said: "I was thrown in the mud: I have become dust and ashes" (Job 30:19). In many other biblical passages can be found this dimension symbolized by the precarious human ashes (Wis 2.3; Sir 10:9; Sir 17:27).
2 - But the ash is also the outward sign of one who repents of his evil act and decides to make a renewed way to the Lord. Particularly well known is the biblical text of the conversion of the inhabitants of Nineveh because of the preaching of Jonah, "the people of Nineveh believed God and proclaimed a fast, put on sackcloth, from largest to smallest. When the news reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes "(John 3.5 to 9). Judith also calls on all calls on the people to do penance for God to intervene to free him: "Every Israelite man or woman and the children lived in Jerusalem fell down in front of the temple and sprinkled ashes on their heads and dressed in sackcloth, raised their hands before the Lord "(Judith 4:11).
The simple but addictive liturgy of Ash Wednesday retains this double meaning that is explained in the formulas of taxation: "You are dust and to dust you shall return" and "Repent and believe the Gospel." Adrien Nocent stresses that the old formula (Remember you are dust ...) is closely related to the act of paying the ashes, while the new formula (Convertitevi. ..) better expresses the positive aspect of Lent with the celebration that has its beginning. The same ritual liturgy proposes a solution very significant: "If that does not is too long, we could join together the old and the new formula, which together express certain to better the meaning of the celebration:" Remember you are dust and to dust you shall return, then converted and believe the Gospel " .
The Rite of Ashes, even celebrated after the homily, replaces the penitential rite of the Mass; also can be accomplished without putting this scheme through the celebratory: entrance song, collection, proper readings, homily, imposition of ashes, a prayer of the faithful, solemn blessing of Lent, leave.
Ashes may be imposed in all the Eucharistic celebrations on Wednesday but it will be appropriate to indicate a community celebration "privileged" in which is placed further emphasis on the ecclesial dimension of the process of conversion that is beginning.
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Humility, repentance and renewal
Horror, death and destruction is affecting so many weeks from now many people of North Africa, which are given to discontent and revolution to reclaim their rights to a decent and dignified life without oppression, injustice and abuse. And 'the staggering arrogance and cruelty of those who react with bloody reprisals, fueling tension, hatred and further violence instead of questioning their actions and their responsibilities towards the people with appropriate remedies for peace, justice and promoting the common good. It will never be enough
any appeal that comes from many sides to cease the immense cruelty that is exercised over who has the inviolable right to protest, but what you should be asked in such cases is common sense and uprightness of conscience by of who has control of the situation and by each and every one, so that situations do not occur in general degeneration. This means we need a radical, profound renewal of the human spirit, a transformation of our staff balked approach to life, a personal repentance that is orientated towards the consideration of the dignity and rights of others.
This reversal of views is always welcome when it carried out gradually, but steadily and decision, but will never have her success until it is interpreted by us with the categories of conversion, that is careful and resolute response to God's call in Christ, and professed that we have chosen as the Savior. In Christ, God reconciles himself to all mankind, gathering all peoples into one man missing and realizes the identity of all overcoming barriers and putting an end to division and aberrant scenarios of hatred and violence. All this in condizione che noi si volga realmente lo sguardo a Cristo e che il cuore non cessi di cercare in lui Colui che per primo si è fatto trovare.
Dio ci chiama e ci convoca nel suo Figlio Gesù Cristo; noi aderiamo alla chiamata e ci incamminiamo verso di lui. Questo significa conversione e penitenza, radici profonde di ogni rinnovamento umano in vista del progresso generale.
Ritornare continuamente a Cristo comporta la presa di coscienza del Suo amore nei nostri riguardi e del primato della misericordia di Dio sulle nostre debolezze, il riconoscimento dell'insufficienza dei nostri ambiti circoscritti di verità immediata e passeggera, la rinuncia alla vanità illusa di felicità passeggere e deleterie e la predisposizione a procacciare l'unione and intimacy with him. In other words it is to shun what is evil to attack the good (Rom. 12: 9), to "avoid sin because the sun goes down on our anger and we do not give place to the devil" (Eph 4: 26-27) and as the Apostle Paul says, to avoid the perverse and amoral behavior typical of the pagans, not at all accustomed to the benefits of the spirit (Eph 4, 17 - 20), monitoring of the dangers and seductions of the world has the power to distract us from 'orientation towards God
But the main condition for that to happen such a fruitful route is humility.
From what begins in fact the admission of our sins and the necessity of returning to God in the communion Christ the Way, the Truth and the Life but from the recognition of our nothingness, our own littleness and sinfulness? Where to start if not from admission of our imperfections nothing in front of all of that absolute perfection is God? Only humility leads to find the reason for a true conversion that is not ostentatious or hypocritical practice outward manifestations, but that stands out and is expressive of our desire to rise towards God and be humble and to revive the condition is discharged in ourselves also that inner peace for which no objections are raised to love God and willingly surrender ourselves to celebrate and advocate. Humility opens the curtain for the first act of conversion. La liturgia di oggi ce la descrive per mezzo del segno delle Ceneri cosparse sul capo di ciascuno, che attestano alla consapevolezza che noi siamo nulla perché Dio possa essere tutto in noi e perché a partire dal nostro nulla, privi di ogni peso e di ogni vano fardello, possiamo incamminarci nel nostro itinerario verso Dio.
Se le Ceneri significano la nostra umiltà, anche il digiuno ne consolida il significato.
Astenersi da un intero pasto secondo le necessità fisiche di ciascuno, privarsi della carne nei periodi indicati dalla nostra liturgia, realizzare altre privazioni aggiuntive secondo le nostre abitudini o le ispirazioni del momento è di ausilio al fervore interiore con cui operiamo la nostra elevazione verso il Signore e significa momentum conversion in exteriority which we tend to communion with God Fasting (as is my personal experience) is already an advantage for the physical, because freeing and purifying the body from excess weight and gives us relief and peace of mind lightness, and also from the standpoint of spiritual renunciation and mortification physics help ensure our liberation from the bay and breaks down unnecessary barriers increasingly asceticism that leads us to God
As always, it was stated and proven, the However, fasting is sterile and meaningless when it is associated to prayer and works of mercy, because it is the reality of goodness and love of neighbor by testing the consistency dell'avvenuto itinerario di conversione spirituale, rendendone testimonianza effettiva: la carità sincera è una componente stessa del digiuno e ometterla dai nostri atteggiamenti equivale a smentire la stessa rinuncia ai cibi e alle voluttà. E' quindi necessario, già nella pratica stessa della rinuncia ai cibi, che venga destinato l'equivalente in denaro a favore di chi ha bisogno e che vengano realizzate, singolarmente e nelle comunità ecclesiali di appartenenza, iniziative concrete di vera solidarietà nei confronti dei bisognosi, tutto ovviamente secondo le nostre possibilità obiettive e tuttavia senza retoriche e negligenze su questo importante aspetto della vita cristiana in generale e della Quaresima in modo speciale.
Risvegliando in us the desire to be humble and giving the same humility as an initial condition of any spiritual purpose, Ash Wednesday, there is an incentive to opt for self renewal in order to transform the world according to the universal will of God in Christ calls us all to new life. The stages of Lent, with all the instruments of grace in this liturgical season can not fail to give us confidence that the good, even if not at hand, it is possible goal.
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