ASH WEDNESDAY
A sad reality: Ash Wednesday has become a superstition for “Catholics.”
Normally, on Wednesdays in this parish, Mass is said at 12:00 noon (in English) and at 7:00 p.m. (in Spanish). At noon Mass, there are at most 4 or 5 people; at night Mass, there are approximately 25 or 30 people.
What happens on Ash Wednesday? That day, the church is packed for both Masses.
Why so many people on that Wednesday? For the simple reason that Ash Wednesday has become an event where, by putting on ashes, we feel protected, God blesses us, and everything will be fine. All of this is symptomatic of a childlike faith. Many who attend on Ash Wednesday don’t normally come to Mass, much less on a normal Wednesday of the week.
We have forgotten God and have remained with His symbols, such as medals, candles, scapulars, holy cards, crucifixes, holy water, and ASH CROSSES. The Gospel, His word, His message, no longer matter; that doesn’t matter. Conversion, the change of life, doesn’t matter.
We have remained with the faith of a 7-year-old child and not with the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Ash Wednesday has become an empty practice with no true sense of faith.
Yes, a sad reality.
