(Ash Wednesday 2025: This homily was given on March 5, 2025 at St. Pius X Church, Westerly, R.I., by Fr. Raymond Suriani. Read Joel 2: 12-18; Psalm 51; 2 Corinthians 5: 20-6: 2; Matthew 6: 1-18.)
[Gor the audio version of this homily, click here: Ash Wednesday 2025]
A couple of years ago, Bishop Thomas Tobin, who was in
charge of our diocese at the time, wrote a column in our diocesan newspaper,
The Rhode Island Catholic, in which he spoke about the things we wear, and how
what we wear often reflects, as he put it, “our belief or our loyalty”. What we wear, in other words, is often a sign
of something deeper. He began by
commending the Catholic school students who had been kicked out of the
Smithsonian Museum a few weeks earlier for wearing hats that said, “Rosary
Pro-Life.” He commended those students
for having worn something that was a sign of “their commitment to life.”
The Bishop went on to say, “How often we proudly wear a
t-shirt, a sweatshirt or a hat bearing the name and logo of our favorite team,
the Pittsburgh Steelers, for example.” [Incidentally,
both Fr. Mahoney and I think that was a very bad example that the Bishop
used—but that’s another story! His point
was still well taken.] The Bishop
continued, “Sometimes we wear things that have religious meaning. Christians
wear a cross to identify themselves as followers of Christ. Catholics wear
medals or pins to share a favorite devotion. When a priest wears a purple
vestment for Mass rather than a white vestment, it means something.”
Then he rightly noted that on Ash Wednesday we—and all
Catholics--will leave church “wearing” something—something that we were not
wearing when we entered the building before the Mass began. We will be wearing
ASHES on our foreheads! Which brought him to the important point for our personal
reflection this morning. He said that these ashes will be “a very visible
sign. But a sign of what?”
That’s the key issue for each of us to consider as we begin
the holy season of Lent today: What will the ashes I wear today actually be a
sign of?
- Will they be a sign of the
fact that I intend to make my spiritual life—my relationship with Jesus
Christ—my immortal soul—my top priority during the next 40 days?
- Will they be a sign of the
fact that I intend to pray more, and to read Scripture more often; that I
intend to come to Mass faithfully every Sunday—and maybe even during the
week? You all got to Mass this
morning. How about doing that at
least one morning a week throughout the Lenten season?
- Will they be a sign of the
fact that I’m going to take an honest look at my life during the next 40
days, so that I can identify those things I need to change? And will they be a sign of the fact that
I intend to bring those matters—those faults—those sins—to the sacrament
of Reconciliation at some point during the season of Lent, so that they
can be forgiven? Fr. Mahoney has
added some extra times for confessions each week, so there’s no excuse for
not getting there.
- Will they be a sign of the
fact that I intend to seek reconciliation with people I’ve offended in my
life (that would be a fantastic Lenten activity!), and will they be a sign
that I will seek to grow in charity during this holy season?
- Or will wearing the ashes
I receive this year simply be a sign of the fact that I somehow paid my
“spiritual dues” on March 5, 2025; that I went through the motions, and
did what many Catholics (probably most Catholics) think they’re supposed
to do on Ash Wednesday every year?
Those are extremely important questions. They’re the questions that need to be
answered by us, and by everyone else who “wears” ashes on their forehead today. Of course, they can only be answered
adequately when Lent is over, and when we reflect back on what we’ve done—and
not done—during this holy season.
May that reflection back help us to see, happily, that the
ashes we wore this Ash Wednesday were a positive sign: a sign of the great
spiritual growth and personal improvement that we would experience—and which we
did experience—during the 40 days of Lent in 2025.
