In-your-face religion

Every year, it is one of the most public manifestations of religion – and yet also the most personal: people wearing ashes on their foreheads as they go about their normal lives on Ash Wednesday.

But the value of this external sign is very much affected by the value of what is in a person’s heart.

This is not the time to be haughty (“See what a good Catholic I am!”)

As today’s first reading reminds us (Joel 2:12-18), we need to be humble and repentant.

Even now, says the LORD,
return to me with your whole heart,
with fasting, and weeping, and mourning;
Rend your hearts, not your garments,
and return to the LORD, your God.

Today’s Gospel (Matthew 6:1-6,16-18) drives the point home even more forcefully that our penitence and devotion must be deep and internal and that we must beware of performing “righteous deeds in order that people might see them.”

Sometimes, of course, our righteous deeds may end up being seen or known by others. Some acts of charity cannot be anonymous. Also, since we are called in varying ways to be “ambassadors for Christ,” there inevitably will be more-or-less public aspects of what we do for Christ.

In such cases, however, we need to scrutinize continually our motives and our impact.

Our goal should not be to show what good people we are.

Our words, gestures, comportment, and actions should communicate that devout Christians are good people and most importantly that the Lord Jesus whom we serve is goodness itself.

"When people see me, they must be able to say, 'Because this man is good, his religion must be good.' If anyone asks me why I am gentle and good, I have to say, 'Because I serve One who is far more 'good' than I am. If only you knew how good Jesus my Master is."
Blessed Charles de Foucauld

"En me voyant, on doit se dire : 'Puisque cet homme est si bon, sa religion doit être bonne.' Et si l'on me demande pourquoi je suis doux et bon, je dois répondre : 'Parce que je suis le serviteur d'un bien plus bon que moi. Si vous saviez combien est bon mon Maître Jésus.'"

Ash Wednesday is a day of witness, but most importantly it is a day of conversion – of renewing our never-ending efforts through God's grace to be more and more like our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.