Ash Wednesday Messages
St. Paul: 2 Corinthians 5:20-6.2
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 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.
Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18
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.
But when you give alms,
do not let your left hand know what your right 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 street corners
so that others may see them.
Amen, I say to you,
they have received their reward.
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.
"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."
Ash Wednesday Message from the National Shrine of St. Jude
Dear Friend of St. Jude, Today, we begin the Holy Season of Lent as we observe Ash Wednesday, a time to remember that "we are dust, and to dust we shall return." It's not too late to send your intentions to be remembered as we pray together our St. Jude Lenten Meditations, a collection of daily reflections to be sent to you each week during Lent. Today, I want to share with you the meditations for the first week of Lent. You can view the meditations on our website, and bookmark the page so you can return to it each new week of the Lenten season.
The weeks of Lent are a dedicated span of time for us to renew and reinvigorate our faith in preparation for the blessings of Easter. We are called to examine how we live our commitment to our faith, to pray for grace and strength, and to reflect on changes we can make in our life that will bring us even closer to God. May St. Jude continue to keep you in his loving care during this Lenten season. Yours in prayer,
Fr. Paul Keller, CMF
Provincial
Claretian Missionaries
USA-Canada Province
Just want to mention that St. Jude seems an appropriate saint and apostle to remember at a time in history when it has often seemed that "all is lost." St. Jude (not to be confused with Judas Iscariot) has been seen for almost two thousand years as the "patron saint of lost causes." Just something to bear in mind. We are not alone.