Celebration of Ash Wednesday (2022) | LIVE from Italy

[Music] [Music] welcome to the live broadcast of the celebration of holy mass with the blessing and imposition of ashes for ash wednesday the mass is being celebrated in the basilica of santa sabina here in rome but it is preceded by a penitential procession from the nearby church of saint anselm just about a few blocks from here we are currently at the basilica of the church of saint anselm here in rome it is entrusted to the benedictine community one of the oldest monastic communities in the church founded in 529 a.d the rich benedictine tradition a procession will go from here a penitential procession to the basilica of santa habina one of the most ancient basilicas here in rome where the ash wednesday mass has always taken place for centuries the holy see press office announced last week that pope francis will not be the celebrant at today's liturgy due to doctor ordered rest for knee pain the vatican's secretary of state cardinal pietro pauline will preside over today's liturgy in his stead on behalf of vatican media i would like to welcome to you to our broadcast in particular those of you tuning in on catholictv catholic faith network shalom world tv ewtn radio maria latvia salt and light tv and atma darshan tv in india my name is mary shevlin i will be providing the english translations for today's liturgy today is ash wednesday of course which marks the beginning of lent for christians around the world this 40-day season and of prayer fasting and almsgiving that begins today and ends at sundown on holy thursday for this ash wednesday pope francis invites all of us to pray and fast for peace in ukraine the holy father said i encourage believers in a special way to dedicate themselves intensely to prayer and fasting may the queen of peace preserve world from the madness of war for those of us following along with this on television we're seeing the inside of the church of saint anselm as the procession begins surgical vestments are purple signifying the season of penance and we begin with a moment of silence oh [Music] is [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] r [Music] [Music] [Music] is [Music] let us pray accompany with your kindness merciful father the first steps of our penitential journey so that the external observance corresponds to a profound renewal of the spirit through christ our lord [Music] the deacon chance let us go forth in peace [Music] cardinal pietro parolin the vatican secretary of state one of the closest collaborators with pope francis what begins now is the procession the penitential procession which will be accompanied by the litany of the saints as we invoke their prayers for our journey throughout this lenten season [Music] foreign [Music] oh [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] foreign [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] foreign [Music] foreign foreign [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] we hear the names of the saints being proclaimed after the name of each saint we say ora pronoubis pray for us we're on the aventine hill here in the eternal city for the ash wednesday celebrations one of the seven hills here in the eternal city the procession just leaving the church of saint anselm making its way to the basilica of santa sabina which is entrusted to the dominican community a tradition going back centuries as the lenten season begins here in the diocese in the city of rome and throughout the world [Music] foreign [Music] foreign [Music] the procession now making its way into the basilica of santa sabina along the route you see many of the dominican friars as well as the benedictine friars we see many lay people who have come out to be along the route to take part in the procession we see many bishops and cardinals as well who will be the concelebrants for today's liturgy the main celebrant we see cardinal pietro palernin vatican secretary of state [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] is [Music] jesus [Music] the procession continuing to make its way into the basilica at santa sabina this is the first station church the tradition of station churches throughout the season of lent a different church for each of the 40 days a tradition tradition called defied by pope saint gregory the great [Music] foreign [Music] cardinal perylene now making his way into this first station church santa sabina as we prepare to begin today's ashwin's day liturgy [Music] [Music] r [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] leaders [Music] the cardinal concelebrants have taken their place and so have all of the faithful inside the basilica here for today's liturgy cardinal perylene putting on the liturgical vestments [Music] jesus [Music] [Music] [Music] cardinal perlin reverencing the altar and now incensing the crucifix and he will do so now with the main altar [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] we are [Music] oh [Music] grant that with this fast the christian people begin a path of true conversion to victoriously face the battle against the spirit of evil with the weapons of penance we ask this through our lord jesus christ your son who is god and lives and reigns with you in the unity of the holy spirit for all ages we continue now with the liturgy of the word today's first reading is from the book of joel with fasting and weeping and mourning rend 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 let the priests the ministers of the lord weep and say spare or lord your people and make not your heritage a reproach with nations ruling over them why should they say among the peoples where is your god then the lord was stirred to concern for his land and took pity on his people the word of the lord [Music] we'll now hear the responsorial psalm today psalm 51. [Music] oh the response be merciful o lord for we have sinned [Music] have mercy on me oh god in your goodness and the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense thoroughly wash me from my guilt [Music] and of my sin cleanse me [Music] [Music] and my sin is before me always against you only have i sinned and done what is evil in your sight [Music] [Music] a clean heart create for me oh god and a steadfast spirit renew within me cast me not out from your presence and your holy spirit take not from me [Music] give me back the joy of your salvation and a willing spirit sustain in me oh lord open my lips and my mouth shall proclaim your praise [Music] we will now hear together the second reading which is taken from the second letter of saint paul to the corinthians 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 heard you and on the day of salvation i helped you behold now is a very acceptable time behold now is the day of salvation [Music] oh [Music] oh [Music] the deacon coming forth now to receive a blessing from cardinal parolin before proclaiming today's gospel [Music] as the choir sings the antiphon if today you hear his voice hard not your hearts [Music] foreign [Music] oh [Applause] [Music] the deacon now taking the book of the gospels from the altar solemnly processing it to the mbone where he proclaimed today's gospel which is from the book of matthew chapter 6. [Music] oh [Music] yes [Music] [Music] the lord be with you [Music] from the gospel according to matthew [Music] [Music] 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 [Music] but when you give alms do not let your left hand know what your right hand 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 the street corners so that others may see them amen i say to you they have received their reward [Music] 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 [Music] on 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 the word of the lord the deacon now processing the book of the gospels back to his place of honor and we will listen together to the homily being delivered today by colonel parolin homily of his holiness pope francis so dear brothers and sisters i will read the homily that our holy father pope francis has prepared for the celebration today as we embark on the lenten season the lord says to us beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them for then you will have no reward from your father in heaven it may be surprising but in today's gospel the word we hear most frequently is reward we think more of the commitment demanded by the journey of faith rather than the prize that is its goal yet today jesus keeps returning to that word reward which can appear to be the reason for our actions yet within our hearts in fact there the lord however speaks of two kinds of reward to which is a spotlight we seek whenever the admiration of others and worldly success become the most important thing for us our greatest gratification yet the latter is merely an illusion it is like a mirage that once we get there proves illusory it leaves us unfulfilled restlessness and discontent are always around the corner for those who look to a worldliness that attracts but then disappoints those who seek world worldly rewards never find peace or contribute to peace they lose sight of the father and their brothers and sisters this is a risk we all face and so jesus tells us to beware as if to say you have a chance to enjoy an infinite reward an incomparable reward beware then and do not let yourself be dazzled by appearances pursuing cheap rewards that disappoint as soon as you touch them the right of receiving ashes on our heads is meant to protect us from the error of putting the reward received from others ahead of the reward we received from the father sign which leads us to reflect on the transients of our human condition is like a medicine that is bitter and yet effective for curing the illness of appearances a spiritual sickness that enslaves us and makes us dependent on the admiration of others it is a true slavery of the eyes and the mind a slavery that makes us live for our vain glory where what counts is not the purity of our heart but the admiration of others not how god sees us but how others see us we cannot live well if we are willing to be content with that reward the problem is that this illness of appearances threatens even the most sacred of precincts that is what jesus tells us today that even prayer almsgiving and fasting can become self-reverent self-referential and every act even the most noble there can hide the worm of self-complacency then our heart is not completely free for it seeks not the love of the father and of our brothers and sisters but human approval people's applause our own glory everything can then become a kind of pretense before god before oneself and before others that is why the word of god urges us to look within and to recognize our own hypocrisies let us make a diagnosis of the appearances that we seek and let us try to unmask them it will do us good the ashes bespeak the emptiness hiding behind the frenetic quest for worldly rewards they remind us that worldliness is like the dust that is carried away by a slight gust of wind sisters and brothers we are not in this world to chase the wind our hearts are thirsty for eternity lent is the time granted us by the lord to be renewed to nurture our interior life and to journey towards easter towards the things that do not pass away towards but to live each day with a renewed spirit a different purified of the hypocrisy of appearances they become even more powerful and restore us to a living relationship with god our brothers and sisters and ourselves prayer humble prayer prayer and secret in the hiddenness of our rooms becomes the secret to making our lives flourish everywhere else prayer is a dialogue in affection and trust which consoles and expands our hearts during this lenten season let us pray above all by looking at the crucified lord let us open our hearts to the touching tenderness of god and in his wounds place our own wounds and those of the world let us not always be in a rush but find the time to stand in silence before him let us rediscover the fruitfulness and simplicity of a heartfelt dialogue with god for god is not interested in appearances instead he loves to be found in secret the secrecy of love far from all ostentation and clamour if prayer is real it necessarily bears fruit in charity and charity sets us free from the worst form of enslavement which is slavery to self purified by these ashes brings us back to what is essential to the deep joy to be found in giving ohmsgiving practice far from the spotlights fills the heart with peace and hope it reveals to us the beauty of giving which then becomes receiving and thus enables us to discover a precious secret our hearts rejoice more at giving than that receiving finally fasting fasting is not a diet indeed it sets us free from the self-centered and obsessive quest of physical fitness in order to help us keep in shape not only our bodies but our spirit as well fasting makes us appreciate things for their true worth it reminds us in a concrete way that life must not be made dependent on the fleeting landscape of the present world nor should fasting be restricted to food alone especially in lent we should fast from anything that can create in us any kind of addiction this is something each of us should reflect on so as to fast in a way that will have an effect on our actual lives prayer charity and fasting need to grow in secret but that is not true of their effects prayer charity and fasting are not medicines meant only for ourselves but for everyone they can change history first because those who experience their effects almost unconsciously pass them on to others but above all because prayer charity and fasting are the principle ways for god to intervene in our lives and in the world they are the weapons of the spirit and with them and on this day of prayer and fasting for ukraine we implore from god that peace which men and women are incapable of building by themselves oh lord you see in secret and you reward us beyond our every expectation hear the prayers of those who trust in you especially the lowly the sorely tried and those who suffer and flee before the roar of weapons restore peace to our hearts once again grant your peace to our days amen carnal paralyn concluding his homily with a thought for this day of prayer and fasting for ukraine he said we implore from god that reading pope francis's homily pope francis's words saying we implore from god that peace from which men and women are incapable of building by themselves we have a moment of silence now which follows the homily where we can meditate on pope francis's words in the homily read aloud by cardinal parolin and then we will proceed with the blessing and the imposition of ashes on this ash wednesday brothers and sisters let us pray to god our father to bless these ashes with the abundance of his grace which we place on our heads as a sign of penance we have a moment of silent prayer now you who do not want the death of sinners but conversion listen kindly to our prayer and bless these ashes that we are about to impose on our heads by recognizing that we are dust and to dust we shall return obtain for us the forgiveness of sins and a life renewed in the image of your risen son he who lives and reigns with you forever and ever his eminence will now bless the ashes with holy water i may the words that adam that the lord spoke that god spoke to adam uh resound in our hearts his eminence said remember man that you are dust and to dust you shall return [Music] so [Music] foreign [Music] cardinal joseph tomko imposes ashens upon cardinal paraline and he does likewise [Music] others come forth and that forth now to receive the ashes on their forehead as will the faithful and everyone present here in the basilica [Music] in italy the ashes are placed directly on top of the head in other parts of the world they are distributed on the forehead the use of ashes going all the way back to the old testament times symbolizing mourning mortality penance we use them at the beginning of the lenten season to mark this time of penance this is eminence mentioned moments ago the words that god spoke to adam in the garden after their sin remember that you are dust into dust you shall return reminds us of our sinfulness in our mortality and our need for repentance [Music] is oh [Music] uh [Music] is [Music] with my mother [Music] therefore [Music] the ashes continue to be distributed ashes are made from the palm fronds which are blessed on palm sunday uh the year before so tying that penitential beginning of holy week with palm sunday and using those palms to turn into ashes to mark our heads to begin this time of penance ah [Music] oh [Music] [Applause] oh [Music] is [Music] r [Music] oh [Music] hello our oh [Music] so [Music] so following the distribution of the ashes the liturgy continues with the prayer of the faithful brothers and sisters with a contrite heart and full of sweet hope we present our petitions to the father the response is lord have mercy [Music] revive evangelical frankness and joy in priests [Music] lead the rulers on the paths of justice and peace [Music] make the hearts of sinners docile to repentance and conversion [Music] give rise to numerous and holy vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life [Music] open the hearts of your children to listening into obedience to the gospel [Music] give your consolation and the closeness of your brothers to the poor and the suffering your people gathered in solemn assembly and take pity on your children who trust in the cross of jesus christ he is god and lives and reigns forever and ever amen [Music] so [Music] oh [Music] oh so [Music] [Music] continue now with the liturgy of the eucharist hmm foreign now in sensing the altar and the crucifix on the altar incense a symbol of our prayer rising up to heaven the deacon also now incensing the celebrant cardinal perylene and will do so now to the faithful and everyone in attendance [Music] foreign and we invoke the strength to abstain from our vices with works of charity and penance to arrive freed from sin to devoutly celebrate the passover of your son he who lives and reigns forever and ever amen we'll leave the eucharistic prayer now in italian oh [Music] um oh [Music] r [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] in sacrificio per buoy [Music] memorial day [Music] mistero de la [Music] apostles a we pray together now the our father [Music] [Music] [Music] christopher [Music] senor hey [Music] jesus [Music] oh salt [Music] oh [Music] [Music] so [Music] foreign me all of the faithful now receiving communion as the scholar sings the beautiful antiphon he who meditates day and night on the law of the lord in time it will bear its fruit and we meditate on pope francis's words during today's homily again delivered by cardinal parolin in his stead [Music] the pope's words speaking about the importance of this lenten season commenting on the readings he warned us to beware of practicing our piety before others the holy father mentioning that in today's readings we hear the word reward and he distinguished two kinds of rewards we can have in our lives one from the father and that from others he encouraged us of course to seek the reward only from the father and not be distracted by the passing nature of this world holy father said it's like a mirage that once we get there proves illusory leaving us unfulfilled pope francis said the ashes on our heads today means that we want to be protected from the error of putting the reward received from others ahead of that which we receive from our father speaking about the ashes they said they lead us to reflect on the transients of our human condition like a medicine he said that is bitter to taste but yet is effective for curing what he called the illness of appearances calling it a slavery of the eyes and the mind [Music] foreign [Music] me [Music] [Applause] [Music] pope francis also mentioned in his homily the importance of prayer fasting almsgiving charity about fasting he said we should fast from anything that can create in us any kind of addiction this is something each of us who we should reflect on he said so as to fast in a way that will have an effect on our real lives about the importance of prayer one that should be done in secret but one that will bear fruit pope francis said prayer charity and fasting are not medicines meant only for us but for everyone he said they can change history [Music] and he ended his homily reminding us about the prayer of day and fasting that he has invoked for ukraine when speaking about prayer charity and fasting pope francis said these are the weapons of the spirit and with them and on this day of prayer and fasting for ukraine we implore from god that peace which men and women are incapable of building by themselves he said hear the prayers of those who trust in you especially the lowly the sorely tried and those who suffer and flee before the roar of weapons restore peace to our hearts once again grant your peace to our days so the basilica here santa sabina wrapped in an air of silence just for a moment of quiet personal silent prayer after communion we now prepare for the final blessing which extends to all of you following along on tv radio and so through social media sustain us on the lenten journey sanctify our fasting and make it effective for the healing of our spirit we ask this through christ our lord amen [Music] [Music] filio [Music] go in peace let us give thanks to god cardinal perylene venerating the altar as today's liturgy comes to a close and [Music] cardinal perlin stopping before the image of the blessed virgin as the choir sings aveda gina chaloram hail queen of heaven [Music] oh [Music] oh [Music] here [Applause] oh [Music] so [Music] that concludes today's liturgy for ash wednesday the season of lent has begun we wish all of you a blessed and fruitful lenten season we leave you with the sights and sounds here from the basilica of santa sabina please visit the vatican news web portal our facebook page instagram account and our twitter feed for the summary of today's literature as well of coverage of other vatican and world news [Music] we offer our prayers for ukraine on behalf of vatican media a blessed lenten season to all of you it's been mary shumlin thank you so much for joining us [Music] christos [Music] so my [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] you

Channel: Shalom World

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Id: qaGqZfPUp64

Length: 91min 35sec (5495 seconds)

Published: Wed Mar 02 2022