02 March 2022 – Ash Wednesday (Year C)

by Bishop Sebastian Francis

Dear friends,

So Jesus says tonight as we begin the journey of Lent – pray, fast, get involved in alms giving (good deeds).

Caritas in the Diocese of Penang, under the leadership of Fr Joachim Robert and his team, say:

Restore, Renew and Rebuild

We know that what Jesus is saying and what Caritas Penang is saying go together. Our way of restoring, our way of renewing, our way of rebuilding, is not purely based on human effort. It involves and it includes prayer, fasting and alms giving. And this is our way of restoring, renewing and rebuilding ourselves, our families, our community, our church and our nation.

The Pope says in his message for Lent 2022 – Please don’t get tired. And he quotes from Saint Paul: Let us not grow tired of doing good for in due time, in an opportune time, we shall reap our harvest if we do not give up.

So then, while we have the opportunity, while there is life in our bones, let us do good to all. And he gives us five areas, the Pope Francis. He says:-

1. Okay let us never grow tired of doing good.
2. And he goes on let us not grow tired of praying.
3. Then he goes on let us not grow tired of uprooting evil from our lives.
4. Then he goes on let us not grow tired of asking for forgiveness in the sacrament of penance and reconciliation.
5. Now he does not stop there. He goes on: Let us not grow tired of doing good in active charity towards our neighbours.

But I would like to tell Jesus and like to tell the Pope: But we are tired. Some of us are tired. Some of us are exhausted. Some of us are burnt out. Some of us are recovering from illness. Some of us are frustrated. Some of us are angry, lonely, afraid. Just see what is going on – war, pandemic, political instability, natural disasters, confusion, uncertainty, division, maybe even crisis of faith.

And Jesus replies: Okay, I understand. He replies:

Come to me, come to me all you who are tired, who are burdened and I will give you rest.

Now if that is not enough, I would like to add:
If you are tired, if you have lost your motivation to do good, in whatever form moved by this Holy Spirit, not by your own human efforts, then I will say, rest. Rest. Those of us who still have the energy, who are not tired yet, well, when we engage in restoring, in renewing in rebuilding, in prayer, in fasting and in alms giving, we will do it together as the body of Christ.

We will do it for you and with you if you are not able to do it yourself for whatever reason. And you are not alone while you rest. So that you will indeed recover and you will be able to support your brothers and sisters who need your help.

Finally, I would like to end by giving you the magic number. This Saturday and Sunday, I will be at the Rite of Election for the Penang Island and the Northern Region in Bukit Mertajam on Saturday, and on Sunday in Ipoh at the Church of the Perpetual Help. And I will meeting all the adult candidates who are going to be baptised at Easter.

And with all the obstacles, with all the limitations, with all the weaknesses, we still have a magic number of adults (I’m not talking about children) who are going to come forward to be baptised on Easter night. And the magic number of those who registered, maybe many more who will not be with me on Saturday and Sunday, but who will be baptised because it is too far for them to come to either Bukit Mertajam or to Ipoh. And 112 catechumens, including some from the Cathedral will be engaged in the Rite of Election.

So I want to assure all the catechumens. wherever you are, that you are not alone. That I, your Bishop, will be with you, not only on Saturday and Sunday, but throughout the 40 days of Lent, praying with you, in solidarity with and  with all Catholics in the Diocese, of Kelantan, Perak, Kedah, Perlis and Penang, who will join me.

So what is going to happen in the next 40 days as is not a private individual journey. We are going to do this together. And of course, Pope Francis is with us and we are with him.

So brothers and sisters, let us get on and now we will receive the ashes and enter passionately, deeply, intimately into this Season of Lent.

Click below to listen to homily and watch video:-

Click to live-stream Mass on 02 March 2022