“May this holy season of Lent be, for us, a time of penitence and renewal, a springtime of growth, a means through which we find our voice to praise the Lord and rejoice in his salvation.” Read today’s reflection from the Daily Mass.
BIBLE READINGS: You can find the readings for Ash Wednesday here
Vivienne Westwood, the fashion designer and businesswoman, who was largely responsible for bringing punk and new wave fashions into the mainstream, once said, “I just use fashion as an excuse to talk about politics. Because I’m a fashion designer, it gives me a voice, which is really good.”
What we wear often defines us. It can identify our class and values, our age and politics, our musical likes and inspirations, our personality, and so much more besides. Vivian Westwood said that, for her, the outward display and expressions of fashion were a means of expressing and addressing real problems and situations.
In our first reading from the prophet Joel, we read, ‘Return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your hearts and not your garments.’ Whilst tearing garments may have been a sign in Joel’s time of sorrow, penitence and frustration, it could all too easily become a shallow show with little or no real meaning. Joel’s call was to an internal conversion of heart.
Today, as we begin our Lenten journey, we are called to look within and to what’s really important. The ‘cosmetic’ and outward act of receiving ashes on our forehead, gives not just an expression of penance but a means to address what lies within. As we focus on our mortality and our propensity to sin, so we find our voice with the weeping priests of Joel’s day, to say, ‘Spare your people, O LORD, and make not your heritage a reproach, a byword among the nations.”
May this holy season of Lent be, for us, a time of penitence and renewal, a springtime of growth, a means through which we find our voice to praise the Lord and rejoice in his salvation. May our lives, from this moment onwards, be fashioned by love and our need of God.
Mass today is at St Paul’s Church at 10am, St Mary’s Church at 11am and St Saviour’s at 7pm
DAY BY DAY
If you’d like more resources for daily prayer then check out our DAY BY DAY pages.
South Cardiff Ministry Area 