The following homily was scheduled to be given by Arlington Bishop Paul S. Loverde on Ash Wednesday at the Cathedral of St. Thomas More in Arlington on March 1.
Permit me to begin today’s homily by repeating the theme chosen by Pope Benedict XVI for his Lenten Message: “Jesus, at the sight of the crowds, was moved with pity” (Mt 9:36). Yes, the gaze of Jesus is upon you and me as we begin today our annual Lenten retreat and pilgrimage. Our Holy Father describes Lent in these words: “Lent is a privileged time of interior pilgrimage towards him who is the fount of mercy. It is a pilgrimage in which he himself accompanies us through the desert of our poverty, sustaining us on our way towards the intense joy of Easter” (2006 Lenten Message).
The Lord Jesus does accompany us each day as we travel through Lent. As He does, He looks upon us with pity. His gaze of pity reveals His love and mercy; His gaze of pity invites us to authentic conversion in mind and heart. Is He not saying to us in today’s first reading “Even now … return to me with your whole heart … ; Rend your hearts, not your garments, and return to the Lord your God?”
How do we return to the Lord in authentic conversion of mind and heart? Through the three great works of Lent, described by Jesus Himself in today’s Gospel account: prayer, fasting or penance, and almsgiving or deeds of mercy. The ashes soon to be imposed on our foreheads are a tangible sign and reminder that this Lent we desire to be transformed more into Christ’s image through prayer, to make reparation for our past sins and to be strengthened for genuine Christian witness by fasting or penance, and to reveal Christ’s love to those in need by almsgiving or deeds of mercy.
This annual Lenten retreat, this 40-day pilgrimage with Christ, has only one goal: that we will become more like Christ in our daily living. At the end of Lent, we should be so conformed to Christ that we see others as Christ sees them, that is, that we look at others with pity — the pity which moved the Heart of Christ.
We shall indeed be enabled to see with the gaze of Christ because prayer will transform us more into His image and fasting or penance will strengthen us to give of our very selves in service. Pope Benedict XVI depicts this self-giving in these words: “ … gift of self to another through which charity is expressed” (cf 2006 Lenten Message). Moreover, almsgiving or deeds of mercy will become tangible and real as we assist people in their basic needs and point them to Christ.
Yes, each Lenten day, take a few moments to focus directly on Jesus the Lord, Who gazes at us with pity. Let us allow Jesus to draw us closer to Him in prayer and penance and to prosper our almsgiving with His divine power. “In turning to the Divine Master, in being converted to him, in experiencing his mercy through the Sacrament of Reconciliation, we will discover a ‘gaze’ that searches us profoundly and gives new life to the crowds and to each one of us” (Ibid).
Finally, let us turn to Mary, Our Blessed Mother and ask her maternal intercession for us as we travel through Lent. “To Mary, ‘the living fount of hope’ (Dante Alighieri, Perediso, XXXIII, 12), we entrust our Lenten journey, so that she may lead us to her Son” (Ibid).
“O Blessed Lord Jesus, turn Your gaze upon each of us and with divine pity draw us closer to You this Lent. Transform us in mind and in heart, so that we may in turn gaze upon all our brothers and sisters with the same pity flowing from Your Sacred Heart. Yes, conform us ever more into Your image and likeness today and always. Amen.”