[ver_02, Ash Wednesday] “Proportional. Purposeful. Penitential.”
Today we begin Lent marked with ashes and marked with truth:
“Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”
That reminder is not meant to petrify or terrify us. It is meant to clarify us.
It strips away illusions—about control, importance, permanence—and brings us
back to where discipleship always begins: honesty before God.
The Church gives us 3 simple practices for this season—fasting,
prayer, and almsgiving—not as religious tasks, but as ways of shaping our
discipleship: discipleship that is proportional, purposeful, and penitential.
Fasting: Proportional
Discipleship
Jesus says, “When you fast, do not look gloomy like the
hypocrites.”
In other words: don’t exaggerate it—and don’t avoid it either.
True fasting is proportional. It fits the person, the
season, and the goal.
Bernadette of Lourdes understood this. She did not dramatize
her suffering or defend herself loudly when she was doubted. She told the truth—quietly
and consistently. Her response was measured, but it was real.
We often lose that sense of proportion or magnitude or
degree. A small hurt becomes a major offense. A criticism becomes a lasting
grievance. Or we do the opposite—we dismiss something that actually deserves
attention.
Lenten fasting retrains us. Sometimes it means fasting from
noise and reaction before we speak. Other times it means fasting from our need
to be right so we can truly listen—to a child, a spouse, a coworker, someone
entrusted to us.
That is proportional discipleship: not doing too much for
show, not doing too little out of comfort—but preparing ourselves in proportion
to the love required.
Prayer: Purposeful
Discipleship
Jesus then says, “When you pray, go into your room and
shut the door.”
Prayer is not about performance. It is about direction.
Purposeful discipleship asks not only what we are
doing—but why.
There is a line often attributed to Mark Twain: The two
most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you
discover why.
Prayer keeps us connected to the why.
Bernadette never sought attention or recognition. Through
questioning and pressure, she stayed anchored to her purpose: prayer,
obedience, fidelity.
Lent is a good time to ask:
Why am I fasting?
Why am I trying again?
Why do I want to change?
If the reason has grown blurry—or if our practices feel
mechanical—this is the moment to ask God to help us remember the reason.
Even Jesus’ prayer in Gethsemane was purposeful: “Father…
not my will, but yours be done.”
Purposeful prayer doesn’t just ask what to do—it surrenders to why we are doing
it.
Almsgiving: Penitential
Discipleship
Finally, Jesus speaks of almsgiving or charitable giving
being done in secret.
Penitential discipleship does not draw attention to itself.
It gives itself away.
At Lourdes, Mary called for prayer and penance—not
spectacle. Bernadette’s sacrifices were hidden, united to Christ, not
advertised.
Real almsgiving costs us something. It empties us—of time,
comfort, resources, control. And often, no one notices.
But that is precisely the point. Christ Himself “though
he was rich, became poor for our sake.” Penitential giving joins us to Him.
It loosens our grip and heals our hearts.
There is an image used after earthquakes: rescuers sometimes
shut down all machinery and stand in silence, listening for voices beneath the
rubble.
Lent does that for the soul.
In restraint, silence, and hidden generosity, God’s voice
becomes audible again.
Jesus, faced with the woman caught in adultery, does not
shout. He bends down. He writes in the dust. Calm. Truthful. Merciful. And
ultimately penitential—because He will carry her sin, and ours, to the Cross.
Conclusion à Today, as ashes rest on our foreheads,
we are reminded who we are—and whose we are.
This Lent, let us practice:
- Fasting
that is proportional
- Prayer
that is purposeful
- Almsgiving
that is penitential
Mary led Bernadette to prayer and penance. She leads us
there still.
And in that quiet, hidden place with her Son, we find not
just discipline—but healing that lasts.
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