Feast of Ash Wednesday
Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18
Feast Day Reflections by Sister Anne-Louise Nadeau

When we look back at the years we have lived through a Lenten season, I wonder how many of us secretly sigh and say without much enthusiasm “just another Lent.” Three hundred twenty-five days seem to pass quickly when we are suddenly interrupted and caught up short with the same message year after year: “Pray, fast and give alms,” for the next 40 days.

What if this year, it’s different, what if we shift our focus a bit and look deeper into the 3 Lenten prescriptions?

To Pray: “Go to your inner room, pray, and the One who sees in secret will repay you.” In going into our inner room we find secrets, fears, illusions, hurts and resentments that are nourished regularly. It is in this room that our heart lives amidst the clutter, confusion and the chaos. This is the room that Jesus challenges us to enter…to face squarely what resides there and, in silence to listen to our beating hearts wherein God dwells. Jesus promises that our time in the inner room will not be in vain.

To Fast: “Fast, and the One who sees what is hidden will repay you.” What if we fasted this year, from negativity, from longing for the past, from our compulsions, our misuses of power, our out-dated perceptions and judgments of each other? What if instead, we built one another up, affirmed each other’s goodness, had real and honest conversations where we truly listened to each other and became more of what we were meant to be? Jesus tells us that our washed faces would radiate goodness.

To Give Alms:…to unclutter, to prioritize, to divest, to let go of whatever we cling to and call security. Could it also mean that we share with each other that which is core to human life…to share what I am thinking, my feelings, my fears, wonderings about the future? Could giving alms mean touching into who I really am and sharing that without apology or pretense? Do we dare to be transparent with each other without fear of reprisal and betrayal? Can we give with one hand without worrying about ‘the other hand?’ Jesus promises that the efforts will not go unnoticed by the One who sees all.

Lent is a time to focus, to sharpen our consciousness and to nourish the human heart by the silence of prayer, the discipline of fasting and the asceticism of giving. And, perhaps after 40 days, the woman who will emerge from her inner room will be less encumbered, lightened of a burden too long carried and more clearly reflecting the goodness of the God who sustains her.

Perhaps, just perhaps, this will not be ‘just another Lent.’

Jesus said to his disciples: “Take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them; otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father. When you give alms, do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets to win the praise of others. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right is doing, so that your almsgiving may be secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.

“When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on street corners so that others may see them. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go to your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.

“When you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites. They neglect their appearance, so that they may appear to others to be fasting. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you may not appear to be fasting, except to your Father who is hidden. And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you.”

            This is the Gospel of the Lord.

 

Sister Anne-Louise Nadeau

Sister Anne-Louise is currently in ministry at My Sister’s Place Women Center, a day shelter for homeless women and children in Baltimore City, Maryland.

She is also co-chair of the SND/USA Anti-Racism Team.

Prior to her current ministry, Anne-Louise spent many years in higher education as counselor and later as Director of a Personal Counseling Center. She also served on the Connecticut Leadership Team.