And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you

We are challenged in the Gospel reading for Ash Wednesday to do right actions, say right words, and pray rightly, but to do so when others cannot see us, hear us, or recognize us. If we do what is right in this way then our intentions rightly match our actions and words.

Ash Wednesday more than perhaps any other day within the Church calendar, we seem to do exactly the opposite of what the Gospel of Matthew says. We
attend a church service, receive a clear mark on our forehead, and then go out into the community to show our mark. How do we come to terms with this seeming contradiction of words and actions? I think the answer might be somewhere between our intention and attention for attending the service inthe first place.

One of the reasons for the ashes on our forehead is so that we can be a sign and witness to others of God’s love for us. The ashes remind us and others that we are invited to have a relationship with a Living God, and part of that
relationship is our eventual physical death so that we can rise to new life in God. Hopefully, when are attend the service and throughout the day when we
look in the mirror, we ourselves are reminded of that. But what about others we encounter throughout the day? What do they see when they notice the
ashes? I think they see the ashes AND see our actions and hear our words all at the same time. If our actions and words do not match the intended message
of those ashes, are we being a witness to others of God’s love?

Of course, we don’t need ashes on our forehead to be a sign of God’s love. We can be a witness to God’s love any day of the year. If our actions and our words come from the right intention rather than from a form of gaining
attention—then we are a sign of God’s love in the world and one that others can recognize. The ashes we receive on Ash Wednesday are a good reminder
for us that we can be a continual sign of God’s love to others, not just on this particular day, but every day so long as we have the right intentions.

-Fr. Christopher Nguyen, SJ