Ash Wednesday at the Cathedral of the Madeleine
SALT LAKE CITY — As Bishop Oscar A. Solis began his homily on Ash Wednesday in the Cathedral of the Madeleine, he thanked those present for attending despite the winter storm that dropped almost a foot of snow in the city.
“If I could guess why you are here, it is because you want to receive ashes,” he said. “You could not wait to have ashes imposed on your forehead. It is one of those days of the year where you cannot miss church even though it is not a holy day of obligation. There is a beautiful message why we are here today as we celebrate Ash Wednesday, signaling that we begin the holy season of Lent – a 40-day spiritual journey with Christ, commemorating his Passion, death and resurrection that leads us to the glorious celebration of Easter – the gift of salvation.”
The season of Lent “sets our heart to have the proper disposition to embark on the journey of faith with our Lord,” to turn back to him despite having sinned, the bishop said.
Ash Wednesday is the first step in a conversion of heart that leads to reconciliation with God, he said, with the ashes serving as a reminder of the fragility of life. “We are just simple dust. But with God we are everything. In the eyes of the world, when you die you are nothing, but because of God’s love and the gift of new life we become everything for God.”
Ashes also are a sign of humility, that “in spite of our sinfulness, in spite of our brokenness, we have a god who continues to mold us in his hands in order to [make] us whole, to heal us, to receive the beautiful, comforting words of God’s forgiveness, where he offers the gift of life that was won by … the blood of Christ on the cross,” he said, adding that God, in his infinite mercy, will offer forgiveness “no matter how much sin we have committed, no matter how many times we have fallen.”
Although a conversion of life is difficult, God’s grace makes it possible, and the Lenten discipline provides the strength to shift the focus away from self and to God, especially to “the cross that became the source of redemption and salvation,” he said.
He noted that the Lenten disciplines of prayer, fasting and almsgiving are not ends in themselves, but rather ways to deepen a relationship with God, he said. Prayer is a dialogue, not only talking to God but listening to him to gain wisdom on how to live a life geared toward eternity. Fasting is not a diet but rather a letting go of something to create space for God in our lives.
Giving alms is a reminder that “God’s gift is not simply for us to keep for our self-interest, but for others,” he added.
The ashes are marked on foreheads in the sign of the cross, a reminder that salvation comes from the cross on which Christ was nailed “in order to give us the gift of salvation, the gift of new life,” he said.
He urged those present to partake in the Lenten journey of prayer, fasting and almsgiving to manifest “not only our love for God but our love for one another and for ourselves. May the blessings of the Lenten season open our minds and our hearts to the outpouring of God’s grace, that we may receive his gift of salvation and eternal life.”
Fr. Martin Diaz, the cathedral rector, concelebrated the Ash Wednesday Mass.
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