Ash Wednesday Mass 2022

[Music] hi i'm father david and i'm happy to be here getting ready for this wonderful ash wednesday mass it's interesting that the church says in the preface that we'll hear that this is a time for rejoicing a time to rejoice in the forgiveness and the wonder of god's unconditional love for each of us so today i'll be presiding and preaching please pray with us and worship with us and enjoy us here as we begin to celebrate lent 2022 [Music] in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit amen my sisters and brothers the power of god our father the love of the lord jesus and the sanctity of the holy spirit be with each and every one of you [Music] as we begin to celebrate lent 2022 we gather here now to hear god's word and around this table of the lord as we come before the lord in his word and in this eucharist let us pause and call to mind those times when we have gone through life overly concerned about our faith and trusting very little in god [Music] so you were sent to heal the contrite lord have mercy you came to call sinners christ have mercy you are seated at the right hand of the father lord have mercy may almighty god have mercy on us forgive us our sin and bring us all to life everlasting amen my sisters and brothers let us pray oh lord as we begin this holy and rejoicing season of lent we ask that as we partake in fasting in prayer and in charitable giving we may be armed with the weapons of faith hope and love we ask this through our lord jesus christ your son who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the holy spirit one god forever and ever amen my sisters and brothers let us be attentive now to god's word a reading from the book of the prophet joel even now says the lord return to me visit with your whole heart with fasting and weeping and mourning rent your hearts not your garments and return to the lord your god for gracious and merciful is he slow to anger rich in kindness and relenting in punishment perhaps he will again relent and leave behind him a blessing offerings and libations for the lord your god blow the trumpet in zion proclaim a fast call an assembly gather the people notify the congregation assemble the elders gather the children and the infants at the breast let the bridegroom quit his room and the bride her chamber between the porch and the altar that the priests the ministers of the lord weep and say spare o lord your people and make not your heritage a reproach with the nations ruling over them why should they say among the peoples where is their god then the lord was third to concern for his land and took pity on his people the word of the lord thanks be to god be merciful o lord for we have sinned for we have sinned have mercy on me o god in your goodness in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense thoroughly wash me from my guilt and of my sin cleanse me be merciful o lord for we have sinned for i acknowledge my offense and my sin is before me always against you only have i sent and done what is evil in your sight be merciful o lord for we have sinned 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 me not from me merciful o lord for we have sinned give me back the joy of your salvation and a willing spirit sustained in me o lord open my lips and my mouth shall proclaim your praise be merciful o lord for we have sinned a reading from the second letter of saint paul to the corinthians brothers and sisters we are ambassadors for christ as if god were appealing through us we implore you on behalf of christ be reconciled to god for our sake he made him to be sin who did not know sin so that we might become the righteousness of god in him working together then we appeal to you not to receive the grace of god in vain for he says in an acceptable time i hurt you and on the day of salvation i helped you behold now is a very acceptable time behold now is the day of salvation the word of the lord thanks be to god my sisters and brothers the lord be with you this is a reading from the holy gospel according to matthew 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 to charity do not blow a trumpet before yourselves as the hypocrites do in the synagogue and in the streets they win praise of others amen i say to you they have received their reward but when you give to charity do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing so that your charity giving may be done in secret and your father who sees all things in secret will repay you and when you pray do not be like the hypocrites who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that others may see them amen i say to you they have received their reward when you go and pray go to your inner room close the door and pray to your god in secret and your god who sees in secret will repay you when you fast do not look gloomy like the hypocrites they neglect their appearances so that they may appear to others to be fasting and then 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 your father your god who is hidden and your father who sees what is hidden will repay you the gospel of the lord praise you lord jesus christ there is a story about mayor laguardia of new york city that took place in 1935 that i'd like to share with you it seems that on one cold night the mayor turned up in night court in a very poor neighborhood and the mayor let the judge on duty go home and took over his bench his first case was of an older battered looking woman who was brought before him and charged with stealing a loaf of bread from a corner store the woman said that her daughter's husband had deserted the whole family and her daughter was now very sick and that her grandchildren were starving so she stole a loaf of bread from the corner store the shopkeeper refused to drop the charges he said your honor my store is in a very bad neighborhood and she has got to be punished or others will rob me over and over again just like she did this one time the mayor said to the woman i've got to punish you ma'am your fine is ten dollars or ten days in jail now i'm going to tell you how the story ends at the end of my homily there was a song a few years ago called tiptoe through the tulips and it talks about a big temptation that we all have the way we live our lives we may be tempted to tiptoe through our life by being overly cautious of our life afraid of how we can be with our friends or family afraid about standing up for what we really think or believe in maybe we allow our fears to regulate our lives or maybe even live under the control of others we may even live our lives by never getting overly involved in our relationships and our relationships with god the ashes that we receive this lent call us to be involved in life these ashes call us to deeply reflect on our own lives the lives of others and in our own life with god lent is not a time for a tip toeing around or walking on eggs so to speak lent calls for a commitment and there are three ways the church calls us to become involved one through prayer two through fasting three by giving money to charity first prayer prayer can and should be more than just memorizing prayers and saying them over and over it should and can be about a deep relationship with god a relationship based on listening and honest discussion with a friend or a spouse prayer can also and should be about more than asking for things and petitioning for things it should also be about a loving conversation between two friends you and your god second fasting now fasting is often seen narrowly as abstaining from certain foods like meat or for some it's a notion of giving something up like a favorite drink or chocolate or alcohol for the next 40 days but what about fasting from television and spending more time reading the scriptures maybe fasting from overworking and spending more time with family or friends what about fasting from complaining or fasting from bitterness or gossip from selfishness maybe fasting from holding grudges or fasting from addictions or actions that hold you back and keep you down how about abstaining from cell phone for a while maybe an hour a day and instead sit quietly and pray with god third giving money to charity this is a serious obligation for us as christians and especially as catholics we have always been called to right the wronged ease the sufferings of the poor and desperate and leave this world better than when we came here today i'm not going to tiptoe through this homily this lent we need to pray fast and give serious money to help the poor who need our help this is what real charity is about and you can help us the franciscan friars help with help us help so many others by your serious generosity this lent so please don't tip throw through this lent this year pray like you speak to your best friend fast from distractions that keep you from really loving and from real compassion and third be deeply generous with your money like god has been deeply generous with you now here's the end of the story about mayor laguardia after he pronounced this sentence the mayor reached into his pocket and he pulled out a 10 bill don't forget it's 1935 that's a lot of money and here is the ten dollars he says which i'm contributing to the fine and furthermore the mayor said i am finding every single person in this courtroom one dollar for living in a city or a grandmother has to steal bread so her grandchildren can eat bailiff he said collect the fines from everyone in the courtroom and give the money to this wonderful grandmother so the bailiff collected the money and the next day the new york times reported that 150 dollars was turned over to a very surprised grandmother who had stolen a loaf of bread to feed her grandchildren the money was collected from petty criminals police officers traffic violators and all who had given mayor laguardia at the end a standing ovation before he left the bench the mayor said to everyone there remember sympathy sees and says i'm so sorry compassion sees and says i will do something to help please have compassion and don't tiptoe through this lent [Music] blessed are you lord god of all creation for through your goodness we have this bread and this wine to offer the fruit of the vine and the work of human hands they will become for us our spiritual food and drink my sisters and brothers pray that this our offering may be acceptable to god the creator the almighty lord set this sacrifice amen loving god as we soundly offer this annual sacrifice for the beginning of lent we beg you o lord that through the works of penance and giving to charity we may turn away from any harmful things and be cleansed from our sins and may become worthy to celebrate devoutly the passion and resurrection of your son our lord jesus christ who lives and reigns with you in the holy spirit one god for ever and ever amen my sisters and brothers the lord be with you lift up your hearts let us give thanks to the lord our god it is truly right and just our duty and our salvation always and everywhere to give you thanks holy father almighty and eternal god for by your gracious gift each year your faithful await the sacred paschal feasts with the joy of minds made pure so that more eagerly intent on prayer and on the works of giving to charity and participating in the mysteries by which they have been remore they may be led to the fullness of grace that you bestow on your daughters and on your sons and so now with the angels and archangels the thrones and dominions and all the powers of heaven we praise you forever in the words of the prophet isaiah holy holy holy lord god of hosts heaven and earth are full of your glory hosanna in the highest blessed is he who comes in the name of the lord hosanna in the highest you are holy indeed o lord the fount of all holiness therefore make these gifts holy we pray by sending down your spirit upon them like the dewfall that they may become for us the body and blood of our lord jesus christ at the time he was betrayed and entered willingly into his passion jesus took bread and giving thanks gave it to his disciples broke it and said take this all of you and eat of it this is my body which will be given up for you in a similar way when the supper was ended he took the chalice and once again giving thanks he gave it to his disciples saying take this all of you and drink from it this is the chalice of my blood the blood of the new and everlasting covenant it will be poured out for you and for all for the forgiveness of sin do this in memory of me the mystery of faith when we eat this bread and drink this cup we proclaim your death o lord until you come again therefore as we celebrate the memorial of his life death and resurrection we offer you lord the bread of life and the chalice of salvation giving thanks that you have held us worthy to be in your presence and minister to you remember lord your church spread throughout the entire world may bring us made bring us the fullness of charity together with francis our pope our bishops and all your holy people remember also our sisters and our brothers who have fallen asleep in the hope of the resurrection and all who have died in their mercy remember in a special way all the deceased relatives and friends of those who are watching us now loving god welcome them into the light of your face have mercy on us all we pray that with the blessed virgin mary mother of god joseph her spouse the blessed apostles saint francis saint anthony saint claire and all who have pleased you throughout the ages we may merit to be coheirs to eternal life and may praise and glorify you through your son jesus christ for it is through him with him and in him o god almighty father that all glory and honor is yours forever and ever amen let us now pray as jesus taught us our father who art in heaven hallowed be thy name thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil deliver us lord from every evil we pray and graciously grant peace in our day that by the help of your mercy we may be always free from sin and protected from all distress and anxiety as we await the blessed hope and the coming of our savior jesus christ for the kingdom the power and the glory are yours now and forever lord jesus christ who said to your apostles my peace i give you my peace i leave with you look not on any sin but on the faith of this your church and graciously grant her peace and unity in accordance with your will who live and reign forever and ever amen my sisters and brothers the peace of the lord be with you always and with your spirit let us share that sign of peace among us [Music] [Music] behold the lamb of god behold him who takes away the sin of the world blessed are those called to the supper of the lamb lord i am not worthy that you should enter under my roof but only say the word and my soul shall be healed may the body and blood of jesus christ bring all of us to life everlasting amen [Music] [Music] so [Music] [Music] let us pray loving god pour out a spirit of love on all who bow before you and by your mercy may we rejoice in the merits that you promise through christ our lord amen on behalf of all of us here at saint anthony's guild the shrines of saint anthony and saint jude and all the franciscan friars we wish you a very happy lent a lent where you can rejoice in god's unconditional love and mercy for each and every one of us so have a good holy lent and god bless you all in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit amen our mass has ended let us go in peace and continue to pray for each other throughout these next 40 days of lent god bless [Music] hi thank you very much for celebrating that liturgy with us i hope you like the homily remember that story about the great mayor of new york city mayor laguardia the mass is over but our challenge to live out lent for the next 40 days is with each and every one of us so in order to help us with that challenge the franciscan friars are going to help all of us by every single wednesday doing a reflection on one of the objects that takes place during lent and especially like holy week there's different objects like shoes coats ashes coins the cross and each of the friars is going to reflect for you and for me a little about how these objects challenge each of us to love god and our sisters and brothers a little more during lent so stay tuned every wednesday during lent for one of the friars to share with us a reflection on objects that lead us through lent it's called watch with me a while take care god bless see you on wednesdays [Music] you

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Length: 28min 21sec (1701 seconds)

Published: Wed Mar 02 2022