Friday after Ash Wednesday &
Memorial of Saint Polycarp, Bishop and Martyr
(a day of abstinence)
Biographical Information about St. Polycarp
Readings for Friday after Ash Wednesday[1]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible at Universalis
Commentary:
Reading 1 Is 58:1-9a
We begin a short journey with the Prophet Isaiah with this passage from what is known as Deutero-Isaiah. Written in the latter part of the Babylonian exile (700 BC), the prophet begins this passage with his mission statement; “Proclaim their faults to my people, their sins to the House of Jacob.” (I like the Jerusalem translation here, it’s clearer.)
Isaiah’s prophecy continues as he chastises the people for missing the point of their fasts of atonement. They perform the rituals and follow the law but then violate the spirit of God’s Law by being uncaring and cruel to each other.
Finally the prophet explains what that spirit is and how it is to impact their actions and closes with the reward for following the spirit of God’s Law – “Your integrity will go before you and the glory of the Lord behind you. Cry, and the Lord will answer; call, and he will say, ‘I am here’.”
Responsorial Psalm Ps 51:3-4, 5-6ab, 18-19
R. A heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.
The psalm 51 captures nicely the sentiment expressed in Isaiah regarding first our need for repentance and second our need for forgiveness. The final strophe is parallel to Isaiah’s description of the acceptable sacrifice.
Gospel Mt 9:14-15
Jesus is challenged by the disciples of John the Baptist and asked why his disciples do not keep the ritual fasts of Pharisaic Law (According to the apostolic response in their early teaching document, the Didache (8.1), the early Christians were to fast on different days than the Jews.).
The Lord responds with the analogy of a marriage banquet were there can be no mourning as long as the bridegroom is present. He refers, of course, to his own presence and the need for fasting after he is gone.
Reflection:
Fridays during the Lenten season take on a special significance. First, long-standing Church teaching says that the faithful are to abstain from eating meat on Fridays. Here is the current teaching from the Catechism of the Catholic Church:
2043 The fourth precept ("You shall observe the days of fasting and abstinence established by the Church") ensures the times of ascesis (strict self-discipline or self-control, as for religious or meditative purposes.)[2] and penance which prepare us for the liturgical feasts and help us acquire mastery over our instincts and freedom of heart.
Memorial of Saint Polycarp, Bishop and Martyr
(a day of abstinence)
Biographical Information about St. Polycarp
Readings for Friday after Ash Wednesday[1]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible at Universalis
Commentary:
Reading 1 Is 58:1-9a
We begin a short journey with the Prophet Isaiah with this passage from what is known as Deutero-Isaiah. Written in the latter part of the Babylonian exile (700 BC), the prophet begins this passage with his mission statement; “Proclaim their faults to my people, their sins to the House of Jacob.” (I like the Jerusalem translation here, it’s clearer.)
Isaiah’s prophecy continues as he chastises the people for missing the point of their fasts of atonement. They perform the rituals and follow the law but then violate the spirit of God’s Law by being uncaring and cruel to each other.
Finally the prophet explains what that spirit is and how it is to impact their actions and closes with the reward for following the spirit of God’s Law – “Your integrity will go before you and the glory of the Lord behind you. Cry, and the Lord will answer; call, and he will say, ‘I am here’.”
Responsorial Psalm Ps 51:3-4, 5-6ab, 18-19
R. A heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.
The psalm 51 captures nicely the sentiment expressed in Isaiah regarding first our need for repentance and second our need for forgiveness. The final strophe is parallel to Isaiah’s description of the acceptable sacrifice.
Gospel Mt 9:14-15
Jesus is challenged by the disciples of John the Baptist and asked why his disciples do not keep the ritual fasts of Pharisaic Law (According to the apostolic response in their early teaching document, the Didache (8.1), the early Christians were to fast on different days than the Jews.).
The Lord responds with the analogy of a marriage banquet were there can be no mourning as long as the bridegroom is present. He refers, of course, to his own presence and the need for fasting after he is gone.
Reflection:
Fridays during the Lenten season take on a special significance. First, long-standing Church teaching says that the faithful are to abstain from eating meat on Fridays. Here is the current teaching from the Catechism of the Catholic Church:
2043 The fourth precept ("You shall observe the days of fasting and abstinence established by the Church") ensures the times of ascesis (strict self-discipline or self-control, as for religious or meditative purposes.)[2] and penance which prepare us for the liturgical feasts and help us acquire mastery over our instincts and freedom of heart.
It’s a bit long but here are the rules from Canon Law:
Can. 1249 All Christ’s faithful are obliged by divine law, each in his or her own way, to do penance. However, so that all may be joined together in a certain common practice of penance, days of penance are prescribed. On these days the faithful are in a special manner to devote themselves to prayer, to engage in works of piety and charity, and to deny themselves, by fulfilling their obligations more faithfully and especially by observing the fast and abstinence which the following canons prescribe.
Can. 1250 The days and times of penance for the universal Church are each Friday of the whole year and the season of Lent.
Can. 1251 Abstinence from meat, or from some other food as determined by the Episcopal Conference, is to be observed on all Fridays, unless a solemnity should fall on a Friday. Abstinence and fasting are to be observed on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.
Can. 1252 The law of abstinence binds those who have completed their fourteenth year. The law of fasting binds those who have attained their majority, until the beginning of their sixtieth year. Pastors of souls and parents are to ensure that even those who by reason of their age are not bound by the law of fasting and abstinence, are taught the true meaning of penance.
From our perspective and in light of what scripture tells us today, the observance of these rules, while important, is less important than what is in our hearts as we do so. It is better for us to slip up and forget it’s Friday but help someone in need than to ignore that needy person so we can get to Stations of the Cross (another tradition during Lent that makes the day special).
Today our prayer should be that our observance of the Lenten Discipline be a reflection of a spirit-filled heart that yearns for the Savior’s love and mercy.
Pax
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