40 Days of Lent: Day 40 (Ash Wednesday)
22 Feb 2023 | Office for Mission and Identity (OMI)
This Lent, we will be invited each day to reflect on certain aspects of our life and our relationship with God. Through the points that will be shared, we hope that our journey these next forty days will be deeper and more meaningful.
Ngayong Kuwaresma, aanyayahan tayo bawat araw na magnilay sa ilang aspekto ng ating buhay at ng ating pakikipapag-ugnayan sa Diyos. Sa pamamagitan ng mga puntong ibabahagi, nawa maging mas malalim at makabuhuluhan ang ating paglalakbay sa apatnapung araw na ito.
40 Days of Lent: Day 40
Ash Wednesday signifies the start of the Lenten Season. It is the first of forty days (excluding Sundays) that resemble the length of time that Jesus spent fasting in the wilderness before he began his public ministry. In that same period, while he was hungry and we can assume very vulnerable, are narratives of how he was tempted. But more than the temptations, we ought to pay attention to how Jesus remained steadfast, not succumbing to the devil’s enticements.
During those forty days of hunger and vulnerability and in his ministry when he experienced both adoration from his followers and rebuke from his enemies, Jesus was clear about his heart, his anchor and his mission. He never wavered in his trust in the Father. He never stopped fighting for the Kingdom he was building. He never turned away from us, his beloved. Even to the point of death.
The ash on our forehead today is a reminder that death is an inescapable reality for all of us. Rich or poor, man or woman, young or old, death is never not a possibility. While that can be alarming, it should also be clarifying. Just like Jesus, we are invited to never waver, to never stop fighting, to never turn away from those that truly matter to us in this life. For any death, our death, will only be rendered meaningful by the life that we live and what we value.
So in the vastness of this life, with the capacity of our heart, through the many potentials that time offers: what are forty things you hold dearest and closest? Who are the people you choose and fight for? What values do you uphold? What traits and deeds will you never give up? Who has your faith and trust? And in all that will make it to your list of forty, where is God in what you revere, value and love?
40 Araw ng Kuwaresma: Ika-40 Araw
Tanda ng simula ng Kuwaresma ang Miyerkules ng Abo. Ito ang una sa apatnapung araw (liban sa mga araw ng Linggo) na inihahalintulad sa haba ng panahon na ginugol ni Hesus sa pag-aayuno sa ilang bago niya sinimulan ang kanyang pampublikong ministeryo. Naroon din sa panahong iyon, kung kailan nakaranas siya ng pagkagutom at mahihinuha nating panghihina, ang mga salaysay kung paano siya tinukso. Subalit higit sa mga tukso, nararapat tayong tumuon sa kung paano nanatiling matatag si Hesus, at hindi nagpatangay sa mga pang-aakit ng demonyo.
Sa apatnapung araw na iyon ng kagutuman at kahinaan at sa kanyang ministeryo kung saan nakaranas siya ng paghanga ng kanyang mga tagasunod at panlilibak ng kanyang mga kaaway, malinaw si Hesus sa kanyang puso, kinakatigan at misyon. Hindi siya kailanman natinag sa kanyang tiwala sa Ama. Hindi siya kailanman huminto sa pakikipaglaban para sa Kahariang kanyang itinataguyod. Hindi siya kailanman tumalikod sa atin, ang kanyang mga iniibig. Maging hanggang sa punto ng kamatayan.
Ipinapaalala ng abo sa ating noo ngayong araw na isang di-matatakasang realidad ang kamatayan para sa ating lahat. Mayaman o dukha, lalaki o babae, matanda o bata, nariyan ang posibilidad ng kamatayan. Samantalang maaaring nakababagabag iyon, marapat din itong makapaglinaw. Gaya ni Hesus, inaanyayahan tayong huwag kailanman matinag, huwag humintong lumaban, huwag tumalikod sa mga tunay na mahahalaga sa ating buhay. Sapagkat anumang kamatayan, ang ating kamatayan, ay mabibigyang-kahulugan lamang ng buhay na ating pinili at ng ating mga pinahalagahan.
Kung kaya sa kalawakan ng buhay, sa kakayanan ng ating puso, sa pamamagitan ng maraming pagkakataon na ipinagkakaloob sa atin ng panahon: ano ang apatnapung bagay na pinakamahalaga at pinakamalapit sa iyo? Sino ang mga taong pinipili at ipinaglalaban mo? Ano ang mga pagpapahalagang pinaninindigan mo? Anong mga katangian at gawa ang hindi mo isusuko? Kanino ka nagtitiwala at nananampalataya? At sa lahat ng mapapabilang sa iyong talaan ng apatnapu, nasaan ang Diyos sa iyong mga itinatangi, pinahahalagahan at iniibig?
#ateneoishome #aihfortydaysoflent #aihday40oflent
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