February 18 – Ash Wednesday
Readings: Joel 2:12-18; Psalm 51:3-4, 5-6ab, 12-13, 14 and 17; 2 Corinthians 5:20—6:2; Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18

Invitation to Prayer: “We are ambassadors for Christ, as if God were appealing through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.” (2 Corinthians 5:20)

Reflection: I remember on our wedding day after all the festivities were over, I confided a bit nervously to my husband, “I don’t know how to be a wife.” He responded with some small amount of alarm in his voice, “Well couldn’t you just be like you were before we got married?” We laugh about that now 51+ years later. We figured it out as we went along, but we didn’t have – and still don’t have – a blueprint on how to survive job changes or the newborn death of a twin daughter or children leaving home and their children being born or retirement. We just know we love one another in whatever form that is.

It is like how we approach Lent. Of course, we’ll select our penances and sacrifices – give up chocolate, maybe spend less time on the internet? We know as we begin this time of prayer, sacrifice and almsgiving that we can be better children of God and hopefully not miss the point that Lent is a time for being reconciled with God, drawing closer in love. We are followers of Christ and ambassadors for him. We carry out the commandments to love God and love all our neighbors, not just those in a particular zip code or those who speak a language we grew up hearing. We are called to especially love those in poverty as Pope Leo encourages us.

When we do that as fully as we can, we abandon our desires and reconcile with God. That’s when we are truly building a kingdom of God, not one of our design or what our judgment tells us would be satisfactory, but a kingdom that is of God’s design, following his blueprint. That’s when we become ambassadors carrying forth the message of the king. When we become married to the idea that Lent is the time to empty ourselves, as Jesus did, and be reconciled to the Father in love.

Prayer: A clean heart create for me, O God, and a steadfast spirit renew within me. Cast me not out from your presence, and your Holy Spirit take not from me. (Psalm 51: 12-13)

Closing: As you commit to your sacrifices and penances, reflect on how they bring you to a deeper love of God and of neighbor. Adjust as necessary!

Pam and Bob Long have been married for over 51 years, giving birth to three children and welcoming three grandchildren and a son-in-law to their family, all close to their heart. Pam is the Director of Love in Action for the St. Stephen Family of Parishes in Hamilton, Chair of the Archdiocesan Catholic Social Action Commission and co-lead of Catholic Relief Services’ Dayton, Cincinnati and Southwest Ohio Chapter and also CRS’ Ohio Coalition.