The Ash Wednesday liturgy reminds us that we are dust from the earth. Though dust, God has made us into His earthen vessels, and we hold a spiritual treasure (2 Cor 4:7). If we constantly remember that we are weak and are dust, then in our weakness and docility, the power of God is made perfect (2 Cor 12:9-10). God desires to pour out His blessings upon us. Will we be able to contain those blessings? We can if we are a solid vessel.
In today's first reading, the prophet Joel sounds the alarm that something important is about to occur. The very next chapter in Joel reveals that God is pouring out His Spirit on all mankind (Jl 3:1ff), into our earthen, dusty vessels. In prayer, we let God fix any leaks in our vessel. In almsgiving, we give away what we think we need to others who are really in need. Fasting helps us become a solid vessel. Though today is a day of mortification, penance, and humility, it is a cause for rejoicing (1 Pt 1:6). God is planning to use us as vessels of His grace.
This Lent, let God make you the best vessel you can be. Embrace your lowliness and become an ever more suitable vessel of the manifold grace of God (2 Tm 2:21). Pray, fast, and give alms to become God's solid, leak-proof vessel.
| PRAYER: | Father Potter, mold my dust into the solid container You desire (Is 64:7). |
| PROMISE: | "For our sakes God made Him Who did not know sin to be sin, so that in Him we might become the very holiness of God." –2 Cor 5:21 |
| PRAISE: | Kathleen's awareness of her natural hunger due to fasting helps her to more greatly appreciate her need for the supernatural food of the Eucharist. |
Reprinted with permission from Presentation Ministries, a lay association of the Catholic Church that focuses on evangelization and discipleship through Bible teaching, daily Mass, the charisms of the Holy Spirit, and Small Christian Community. Their ministries include:
· One Bread, One Body
· Daily Bread Radio Program
· Annual Bible Institute
· Discipleship Retreats
· Guadalupe Bible College