Catholic Schools Ash Wednesday Mass - March 2nd , 2022

[Music] [Music] [Music] today as we begin our lenten journey we welcome in a special way our various the chaplains of the various schools will be celebrating our ash wednesday service with us welcome monsignor john lewis father karam father callistus and father peter mititu welcome in a special way the principals of the various catholic schools teachers members of staff and students present as we begin our celebration this morning we begin with our entrance him the prodigal son fugitive from god sorry [Music] for a long long time [Music] big puppy [Music] god [Music] why do you [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] you are never a [Applause] [Music] a future [Applause] [Music] all your life [Applause] [Music] [Music] um should choose [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] come [Applause] you are never meant to [Applause] why do you run away [Music] it's been calling calling [Applause] [Music] is [Applause] [Music] is [Music] oh [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] to [Applause] [Music] why do you run [Music] away from [Music] in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit amen the lord be with you and with your spirit dear friends i welcome all of you to our celebration of ash wednesday the first reading from the book of jewel the prophet says call an assembly gather the nations call everybody and let the priests the ministers of the lord lament and say spare your people lord as they intercede on behalf of the people of god and today we're gathered the catholic schools with representatives from convent prep from convent high school for mary's primary said mary's academy said martin's primary and said martin secondary and we're here with you father karam father kalistas father peter and myself why because although we are few in number we represent a large throng of people all the schools together with the teachers the principles who are here with us and so we invite all of you who are celebrating with us by the various media platforms be present with us here stay with us hear the readings see what is happening and although you're not here physically with us be with us ash wednesday is the beginning of the season of lent and the old readings they used to see the the joyful season of lent because the time when the church calls us once again to conversion and as you know in the scripture it says there is more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents when over 99 who have no need of repentance so it is a joyful moment where we ourselves of course first of all are called to repentance so welcome and let us pray grant o lord that we may begin with holy fasting this campaign of christian service so that as we take up the battle against spiritual evils we may be armed with weapons of self-restraint 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 a reading from the prophet jewel no no it is the lord who speaks come back to me with all your heart fasting weeping morning let your hearts be broken not your garment stone turn to the lord your god again for is all tenderness and compassion slow to anger rich in graciousness and ready to relent who knows if he will not turn again will not relent will not leave a blessing as he passes oblation and libration for the lord your god song the trumpet in zion order a fast proclaim a solemn assembly call the people together summon the community assemble the the elders gather the children even the infants at the breasts let the bridegroom leave his bedroom and the bride who alcove between festival and the altar let the priests the ministers of the lord lament let them see spear your people lord do not make your heritage a thing of shame a bible for the nations why should it be said among the nation where is the god then the lord jealous on behalf of islam to pick pity on his people the word of the lord [Music] oh [Music] have mercy on me god in your kindness in your compassion plot out my offense [Music] wash me more and more from my guilt and cleanse me from my sins oh [Music] my offense is truly i know them my sin is always me for me against you you alone have i sinned what is evil in your sight i have done [Music] lord [Applause] [Music] your heart to create for me o god put a steadfast spirit within me do not cast me away from your presence nor deprive me of your holy spirit [Music] oh lord [Music] [Applause] [Music] give me again the joy of your help with the spirit of the source in me oh lord open my lips and my mouth shall declare your praise o god [Music] mercy on us [Music] a reading from the second letter of saint paul to the corinthians we are ambassadors for christ it is as though god were appealing through us and the appeal that we make in christ's name is be reconciled to god for say god made the sinless one into sin so that in him we might become the goodness of god as his fellow workers we beg you once again not to neglect the grace of god that you have received for he says at a favorable time i have listened to you on the day of salvation i came to your help well now is the favorable time this is the day of salvation the word of the lord [Music] [Music] [Applause] jesus christ [Music] jesus christ [Music] up your heart create for me o god and give me again the joy of your hand [Music] lord jesus the lord be with you r a reading from the holy gospel according to matthew jesus said to his disciples be careful not to parade your good deeds before men to attract and notice by doing this you will lose all reward from your father in heaven so when you give arms do not have it trumpeted before you this is what the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets to win men's admiration i tell you solemnly they have had their reward but when you give arms your left hand must not know what your right hand is doing your arms giving must be secret and your father who sees all that is done in secret will reward you and when you pray do not imitate the hypocrites they love to say their prayers standing up in the synagogues and at the street corners for people to see them i tell you solemnly they have had their reward but when you pray go to your private room and when you have shut your door pray to your father who is in that secret place and your father who sees all that is done in secret will reward you when you fast do not put on a gloomy look as the hypocrites do they pull long faces to let men know they are fasting i tell you solidly you have had their reward but when you fast put oil on your head and wash your face so that no one will know you are fasting except your father who sees all that is done in secret and your father who sees all that is done in secret will reward you this is the gospel of the lord we began with the song fugitive from god what is the refrain why don't you turn and turn around why do you roam can't you see god the father wishes to welcome you home you were never meant to walk the paths you trust why don't you turn turn around come back and that's what conversion is about turn around you're going in one direction you realize it's the wrong direction go back and in the song we say you're going in a direction that god never wanted for you you knew you were never meant to walk in that direction not only that but your father god is waiting to welcome you home so what are you waiting for go back and that dear friends is what conversion is about what we speak about in terms of lent i want to start with the three pillars of lent as we heard in the gospel reading today then i'll refer to our holy father pope francis's message for lent very briefly and i will end with what i refer to as the lenten proclamation which speaks to the first reading from joel that talks about calling the people together and in there also there is the line from the second reading from the second letter of sin paul to the corinthians that says no is the acceptable time. so the three pillars of our lenten observance are what we heard in the gospel of the day and they are prayer everybody say prayer fasting and works of charity so prayer fasting and arms giving and you heard the gospels i won't go for it again he says there are people who pray just so that other people can see them praying and say wait for they they're good they're holy holy holy he said don't do that don't ever do that don't go and pray on the street corners bible say bibles just for people to see on the clap for you you have already gotten the reward but when you pray go into your private room close the door and pray in other words give that moment to god if somebody comes and sees you praying it's okay but you're not doing it for people to see and the word says and when you do that your father god who sees what is done in secret will hear you will see you and will reward you and what i say to that my dear brothers and sisters is this we all pray but sometimes we pray without attention our mind not there so you said our father what and have a look at thy name and you're fixing your nails and you know amen did you pray no because you did not give yourself to the prayer so during this lenten time we're inviting everyone when you pray pray don't just say words pray let your heart be in the heart of god when i went to catechism class years ago they taught me that prayer is a heart to heart talk with god heart to heart which means i have to be quiet i have to focus on god and speak to him and listen to us what he says to me silence that's all i'm going to say about prayer pray don't pray more but pray better let your prayer be truly a prayer a heart-to-heart talk with god so that is the first pillar for our lenten observance the second one is fasting again the word of god says don't be like those people that put out all kinds of things on them to tell people every day that they're fasting so that people can clap for them and say boy mom zelda's fast five days a week with five out of seven oh she in heaven already no don't do that don't ever do that when you fast normal people see you as you are normally they wouldn't have any idea that you're fasting but god knows and god who sees in secret will reward you and the purpose of the fasting is to discipline myself so that i can be stronger against temptation because temptations will come and the fasting is a discipline that makes me more able to deal with the devil and to deal with myself too so fasting and what is fasting not having a regular meal so like today is a day of fasting and abstinence we're told abstain from eating meat and fast meaning take one full meal of course there are other types of fasting some will sell their fast only on liquid so they'll drink only juice today no no food others sell bread and water different ways whatever way you choose do it and do it for the right reason and do it well that's the second one the third one is arms giving or works of charity of course we're called to do that every day of our lives but here in lent we say focus again and look outside of yourself to the other person who needs you look outside look beyond first thank god for what you have you have more than enough and recognize that there are others who have nothing at all give to them so put aside a little bit of your salary and say that's the extra i could use it you know but i know master wants to down the road who haven't got i'll give that to them or i will not eat lunch today but i will buy a lunch and give it to somebody who needs lunch are you with me to do an act of charity again the word says to us don't do it for people to clap for you you don't need to put it on the radio you don't need to put it on the television you don't need to broadcast it do it with a pure heart and willing spirit and god who sees what you do in secret will reward you that's it for the three pillars of land i'm going now to the holy father's message for lent this year the message of his holiness pope francis for lent 2022 and he takes his theme from galatians chapter 6 verses 9 and 10 listen well let us not grow tired of doing good for in due time we shall reap our harvest if we do not give up so then while we have the opportunity let us do good to all i think that was almost enough i will read it again galatians chapter 6 verses 9 and 10 that is the holy father's message for lent 20 22 let us not grow tired of doing good for in due time we shall reap our harvest if we do not give up so then while we have the opportunity let us do good to all what a beautiful message and he begins by talking about the harvest talking about sowing and reaping and of course you know the uh the phrase from the scriptures again you reap what you sow thin sowing means thin reaping so if you saw in the field of evil you will reap evil if you sow in the field of good you will reap good the harvest you will get is yours so so well good works acts of charity prayer fasting then you will certainly reap your harvest if you persevere and then the second part of his uh message is let us not grow tired of doing good let us not grow tired of doing good i have heard people say to me father i tired pray all right i do this for so and so and they're not responding they don't even tell me good morning i finished with that no you cannot finish with that because you see as he says here whatever good we do is already noted by the lord is never wasted whatever act of kindness is never wasted even if they don't say thank you or they don't show appreciation so don't stop and then the holy father goes on to say let us not grow tired of praying i'll just read a little phrase he says jesus taught us to pray always without becoming weary luke chapter 18 and verse 1. we need to pray because we need god thinking that we need nothing other than ourselves is a dangerous illusion if the pandemic has heightened the awareness of our own personal and social fragility may this land allow us to experience the consolation provided by faith in god without whom we cannot stand firm she says don't stop praying and then he goes on to say let us not grow tired of uprooting evil from our lives may the corporal fasting to which lent calls us fortify our spirit for the battle against sin let us not grow tired of asking for forgiveness in the sacrament of penance and reconciliation knowing that god never tires of forgiving and the last bit i will share with you is when he says let us not grow tired of doing good in active charity towards our neighbors during this lent he says may we practice arms giving by giving joyfully god who supplies the seed to the sower and bread for the food enables each of us not only to have food to eat but also to be generous in doing good to others if you have a chance to read the entire message it's not that long and it's on of course it's on the internet but you see how he takes up again the same three pillars praying fasting and almost giving so i leave that with you as i conclude now with the anthem for lent sound the trumpet in zion remember the first reading from joel and the second reading where paul says we are ambassadors for christ and this is the acceptable time sung the trumpet in zion sound the trumpet on earth sound the trumpet and listen proclaim a fast call an assembly gather the nations tell all the peoples now is the acceptable time now is the day of salvation now is the day now is the time turn from your sins return to the lord [Music] turn turn turn around god is waiting to welcome you home amen you may have noticed that we did not have the penitential right as you would normally have at the beginning of our service because today's ash wednesday so now if you stand we will pray over the blessing over the ashes and then we will have the distribution of ashes my dear brothers and sisters let us humbly ask god our father that he be pleased to bless with the abundance of his grace these ashes which will put on our heads in penitence let us bow our heads and pray for a few moments in silence steps oh god who desire not the death of sinners but their conversion mercifully hear our prayers and in your kindness be pleased to bless these ashes which we intend to receive upon our heads that we who acknowledge we are but dust and ashes and shall return to dust may through a steadfast observance of lent gain pardon for sins and newness of life after the likeness of your risen son who lives and reigns forever and ever remember that you are dust and how to dust your shoulders again remember that your dust and not adjust remember that you are dust and at the desk turn away from evil so number 138 [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] go straight [Music] [Applause] [Music] oh [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] you shall [Music] believe me [Music] foreign [Applause] [Music] is [Music] number one three one he touched me [Music] happy partners [Music] [Music] he touched me he touched me [Music] [Music] [Applause] he touched me [Applause] [Music] since i met [Music] i will never cease [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] me [Music] since we know [Music] food [Music] touched me [Music] something [Music] happened he touched me [Music] let us stand our response is remember lord that we are your children let us praise god for his loving kindness which is revealed to us in jesus christ remember lord that we are your children lead us more deeply into the life of your church and through us make it a clearer sign of the world's salvation lord help us to play our part in the growth of the human city and help us to build up your kingdom in every way may we come to christ when we are burdened for he is the spring of living water who refreshes all who thirst the harm that we have done guide us in the path of justice and truth the holy father has invited all of us to pray on this day ash wednesday to fast for a particular intention and that is for the war that is raging now between russia and ukraine that we will pray for peace again one of the pillars of our london observance is prayer and invites us to remember the power of prayer that that would not escalate any further that there would no more be no more deaths no more destruction and so we pray for an end to war and all that makes for war for a conversion of heart for all those who are promoting war and destruction we pray that nations will respect each other we pray of course also for all those who have perished all those who've died and they may find rest and of course we pray for those who grieve all those who mourn the loss of their loved ones let us take a moment in silence as we pray we pray also for our own country it seems that over the weekend there were several accidents and deaths as well that the lord will grant pardon to all those who have died and that the lord may grant consolation to all those who mourn their loss that the lord would give all of us a conversion that we need a heart that is turned towards him in all things i would learn to respect each other be loving and kind as brothers and sisters that we hear his call calling us to turn turn around and come back to him that we may have peace in our own land once again let us pause for a moment in silent prayer almighty god and father hear the prayers of your children grant us what we ask in faith through jesus christ our lord amen and now we join in praying the prayer that our lord jesus himself 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 brain and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil amen is there a special instrumental prayer now of him let us have that and then we'll have the closing prayer [Music] you are my strength when i am awake you are the treasure that i seek you are my only lord seeking you as a precious jew not to give up [Music] is [Applause] [Music] taking my sin my cross my shame rising again [Music] when i fall down you pick me up when i am dry you [Music] jesus [Music] [Applause] [Music] jesus the lamb of god is your name jesus jesus lamb of god jesus the lamb of god is your nerves [Music] let us stand and pray before i give the final prayer i just want to thank all of you for inviting us and i speak in my own name in the name of all the other priests who are here father kalista's father peter mother karam and for organizing this beautiful celebration for all the schools and for the principles we're here for the superintendent of scotland schools and all of you young people the students who represent your schools thank you very much and i wish you all the very best as we begin lent together pour out a spirit of compunction o lord on those who bow before your majesty and by your mercy may they merit the rewards you promise to those who do penance through christ our lord amen the lord be with you may almighty god bless you the father and the son and the holy spirit amen go in the peace of christ thanks be to god and we'll sing song number 108 god of mercy and compassion let me on behalf of all our catholic schools thank all our priests or fathers one senator john lewis father karam for the kalista's father peter for presiding over our ash wednesday service we are truly grateful we're truly thankful and for all our students and staff followers who followed on the platform various media platforms we say thank you very much god bless and happy lent [Music] god of mercy and compassion look with beating upon me [Applause] jesus lord i ask for mercy let me not employ all my sins i now detest them never will i sing again [Music] by my sins i [Music] [Applause] [Music] eternity jesus lord i ask for mercy let me know for my sins i cannot retest them [Music] [Applause] of [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] mercy [Applause] [Applause] jesus in the lord i ask for mercy let me know in front of my sins i love the test never will [Music] so [Music] so you

Channel: Diocese of Roseau

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Keywords: Diocese of Roseau, Catholic, Dominica, Chrism Mass

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Length: 57min 56sec (3476 seconds)

Published: Wed Mar 02 2022