Lenten Justice!

Wednesday, February 18, 2026

Ash Wednesday!

Jl 2:12-18; 2 Cor 5:20-6:2; Mt 6:1-6, 16-18

Ash Wednesday invites us to reflect on Lenten Justice, which culminates in loving God and our neighbors more fully.

Prayer, fasting, and almsgiving are three important pillars of the season of Lent. But how we put each of them into practice in real life matters more.

Prayer: Prayer becomes a form of charity towards ourselves and others when we think of faith as something to be given shape and realized in concrete action. It is a contemplative action whereby we give God to others. It is to bring to God the needs of others while being determined to do our part to help them out. Fraternal charity is the form by which we fulfil all commandments towards God and others.

St. John Chrysostom understood the worship of Christ through charitable actions. Preaching on Matthew 25: 31-46, he said: ‘Because he is a poor man, feed him; because Christ is fed, feed him.’ He said again: ‘Do you really wish to pay homage to Christ’s body? Then do not neglect him when he is naked. At the same time that you honor him here with hangings made of silk, do not ignore him outside when he perishes from cold and nakedness.’

Fasting: More often than not, fasting becomes a spiritual discipline for many. However, real fasting is not only staying away from meat on Fridays. Nor is it to turn the proceedings to the church while leading a self-serving life. Instead, it is to deprive oneself of something essential in order to give to others the very value of what we sacrifice. 

The Shepherd of Hermas added a charitable dimension to fasting: ‘On that day when you fast, you shall taste nothing but bread and water, and you shall reckon the amount of the expense of the foods you would have eaten on that day you are going to observe, and you shall give it to a widow or an orphan or someone in need, and you shall fast that through your fasting he who receives may fill his soul and pray for you to the Lord.’

Almsgiving: Christian charity is not about doing little things in token gestures. It is not being generous towards the church while being unjust towards others. It is not to use God as a cover-up for our injustice. Instead, it is to shun selfishness and lead an other-centered life. It is to turn the needs of others into our own. It is the giving that ‘hurts’ us so that others may benefit. 

Preaching on almsgiving, St. Clement of Alexandria said: ‘Almsgiving is as good as repentance from sin; fasting is better than prayer; almsgiving is better than either.’ ‘Let the rich man supply the needs of the poor, and let the poor man give thanks to God because he gave him someone to supply his lack.’

Let us pray that we may practice Lenten justice in more concrete ways that glorify God and benefit the needy humanity. 

Fr. Dhinakaran Savariyar