Reading and meditation on the Word of God on the Ash Wednesday, March 5, 2025

Delivered by Father Peter Tukan, SDB from Salesian Don Bosco Gerak in the Diocese of Labuan Bajo, Indonesia. Joel 2: 12-18; Rs psalm 51: 3-4.5-6a.12-13.14.17; 2 Corinthians 5: 20 - 6: 2; Matthew 6: 1-6.16-18STANDARD OF PIETY Our meditation on this Ash Wednesday has the theme:Standard of Piety. There is a couple who always comes to the cathedral andvisit the Blessed Virgin Mary's shrine at 8 pm. Many parishioners admire them,because they look so pious in their prayer disposition. Many say that thehusband and wife have been in this devotion for 20 years. They always cometogether and pray together. When the parish priest spoke to the couple,specifically about the 20-year good practice of praying in front of Our Lady at8 p.m., they only replied briefly, that it is their standard of piety. Theywant to ask for something they so strongly believe God will grant them. Jewish tradition and religion pass on the standard ofpiety that Jesus later teaches us as well. The standard of piety includes threebasic acts that are obligatory, namely fasting, prayer, and charity. The Jewsoblige this to each of their people, that if these three righteous deeds areperformed, a person is seen as a good religious person and is pleasing to God.Jesus also considers these three virtues to be the standard for making peopleworthy to be His followers. But there is a striking difference between thestandard of piety taught by Jesus and that practiced by the Jews, especially inthe guidance of the religious leaders and the Pharisees. The difference isrelated to motivation or intention. For Jesus and what He always emphasizes tous, the motivation for praying, fasting or abstinence, and doing charity is tohave a relationship with God the Father in heaven. This is truly a spiritualaffair, a matter of the heart, and an activity of faith in God. The book of theprophet Joel in the first reading emphasizes a renewal of the heart, and notexternal affairs such as very poor wearing clothes and various other externalattributes. This confirms that the standard of Jewish piety is atodds with what Jesus teaches. Their piety is not for God but to gain the praiseof others, that they were holy and good. They have earned their reward for thatappearance, while God has given them nothing as a gift. Therefore, Jesus warnedsternly against conforming to such an outside standard. Our standard is in theheart that has a direct and personal relationship with the heavenly Father.Every time one does these three pious deeds correctly, it is when oneexperiences a sign of salvation from God, says Saint Paul in today's secondreading. It is the spirit of Ash Wednesday that we allcelebrate on this day to begin our Lenten season.Let us pray. In the name of the Father... O Lord our God, maythis Ash Wednesday be filled with a new spirit to start the process ofself-renewal in this period of Lent. Glory to the Father... In the name of theFather...