{"id":10935,"date":"2024-02-15T11:58:25","date_gmt":"2024-02-15T16:58:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/basilian.org\/?p=10935"},"modified":"2024-02-26T10:07:45","modified_gmt":"2024-02-26T15:07:45","slug":"ash-wednesday-almsgiving-as-a-pathway-to-peace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/basilian.org\/en\/ash-wednesday-almsgiving-as-a-pathway-to-peace\/","title":{"rendered":"Ash Wednesday: Almsgiving as a Pathway to Peace"},"content":{"rendered":"

The history of Ash Wednesday and Lent are seen as more solemn times during the Liturgical year, as during this time many Catholics give up things or activities in an effort to emulate the sacrifices Jesus made during his 40-day fast. However, this season\u2019s true purpose is not abstinence for the sake of self denial alone.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course, the big question always seems to be \u201cwhat are you giving up for Lent?\u201d\u00a0 While sacrifice plays an important role in the spiritual life, I think the Gospels calls us to go further. Lent is more than giving up things and doing things. Cardinal Roche, the Vatican liturgist, said in an interview that \u201cwe need to look at things more carefully. And particularly look at [myself] personally and see where I am going: What am I doing; am I becoming more of a Christian on my journey through life? Am I becoming more of a witness or am I just drifting along and taking things really for granted \u2013 and not really looking quite seriously?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

– Mitchell Dowalgo, CSB<\/p>\n

These questions shift our attention to the way in which we have chosen to live our lives, the things we value and whether this life is reflects the relationship we want to have with God.<\/p>\n

What guides us back to the path if we would like to improve our relationship with God and others?<\/p>\n

Among prayer and fasting, almsgiving stands out as an act that involves others specifically. This is intentionally so, as this activity helps us realize that we are not the center of the world, and that other people exist in it, who may be victims of violence and injustice.<\/p>\n

Peace in society it is not the absence of conflict, but rather a dynamic, ongoing process. When conflict arises, we are inclined to ignore it because it does not seem to affect us or seek the ones responsible to demand reprimands. The best way, however, is to face it head on.<\/p>\n

This can only be achieved by those who are willing to go beyond the conflict and, regard others with dignity, to see that others matter. Such a feat requires acknowledging that unity is greater than conflict, and such knowledge is obtained through the Gospels, which remind us that Christ \u201cis our peace\u201d (Eph\u00a0<\/em>2:14), because he overcame the world\u2019s conflicts \u201cby making peace through the blood of his cross\u201d (Col\u00a0<\/em>1:20). Thus, peace is built upon the Holy Spirit, and its power to reconcile every conflict.<\/p>\n

\u201cAshes! They remind us of our mortality. They also remind us of our grief. Grief for our own personal failings but also grief for the ashes of the ongoing wars and degradation of our planet. This Ash Wednesday I am especially grieving for the ashes of Gaza and the thousands who have died in the rubble. The Ash Wednesday Gospel calls us to celebrate Lent with prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. This Lent let’s all become peacemakers \u2013 beseeching our God to change the hearts of warmakers, letting go of our uncaring for the poor and suffering victims of war, and giving of our time and energy to advocate for justice and peace in the Holy land and indeed for the healthy future of our planet earth.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

– Robert Holmes CSB<\/p>\n

By observing Ash Wednesday and the season of Lent, we become more in touch with the crucial questions that define our lives and the lives of others. Our spirituality does not exist in a vacuum, it reflects the actions we take towards the wellbeing of not just ourselves, but others.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Pattern on Lenten Fabric Made by Jim Farge, CSB<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Confreres in Colombia Celebrate Ash Wednesday<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The history of Ash Wednesday and Lent are seen as more solemn times during the Liturgical year, as during this time many Catholics give up things or activities in an […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":282,"featured_media":10938,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAsh Wednesday: Almsgiving as a Pathway to Peace - Basilian Fathers<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/basilian.org\/en\/ash-wednesday-almsgiving-as-a-pathway-to-peace\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ash Wednesday: Almsgiving as a Pathway to Peace - Basilian Fathers\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The history of Ash Wednesday and Lent are seen as more solemn times during the Liturgical year, as during this time many Catholics give up things or activities in an […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/basilian.org\/en\/ash-wednesday-almsgiving-as-a-pathway-to-peace\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Basilian Fathers\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-02-15T16:58:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-02-26T15:07:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/basilian.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/I-have-said-these-things-to-you-1.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Ilya Kovalevskiy\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Ilya Kovalevskiy\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/basilian.org\/en\/ash-wednesday-almsgiving-as-a-pathway-to-peace\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/basilian.org\/en\/ash-wednesday-almsgiving-as-a-pathway-to-peace\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Ilya Kovalevskiy\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/basilian.org\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/6e3c6386736ea490dbd112241a8874c1\"},\"headline\":\"Ash Wednesday: Almsgiving as a Pathway to Peace\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-02-15T16:58:25+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-02-26T15:07:45+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/basilian.org\/en\/ash-wednesday-almsgiving-as-a-pathway-to-peace\/\"},\"wordCount\":619,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/basilian.org\/en\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"General News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/basilian.org\/en\/ash-wednesday-almsgiving-as-a-pathway-to-peace\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/basilian.org\/en\/ash-wednesday-almsgiving-as-a-pathway-to-peace\/\",\"name\":\"Ash Wednesday: Almsgiving as a Pathway to Peace - Basilian Fathers\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/basilian.org\/en\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2024-02-15T16:58:25+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-02-26T15:07:45+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/basilian.org\/en\/ash-wednesday-almsgiving-as-a-pathway-to-peace\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/basilian.org\/en\/ash-wednesday-almsgiving-as-a-pathway-to-peace\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/basilian.org\/en\/ash-wednesday-almsgiving-as-a-pathway-to-peace\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/basilian.org\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Ash Wednesday: Almsgiving as a Pathway to Peace\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/basilian.org\/en\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/basilian.org\/en\/\",\"name\":\"Basilian Fathers\",\"description\":\"Congregation of St. Basil\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/basilian.org\/en\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/basilian.org\/en\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/basilian.org\/en\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Congregation of St. Basil\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/basilian.org\/en\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/basilian.org\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/basilian.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/basilian-crest-new2.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/basilian.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/basilian-crest-new2.png\",\"width\":250,\"height\":250,\"caption\":\"Congregation of St. Basil\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/basilian.org\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/basilian.org\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/6e3c6386736ea490dbd112241a8874c1\",\"name\":\"Ilya Kovalevskiy\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/basilian.org\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/da65155bbe88af2a5041b96031b1e26e?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/da65155bbe88af2a5041b96031b1e26e?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Ilya Kovalevskiy\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/basilian.org\/en\/author\/ilya_csb\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Ash Wednesday: Almsgiving as a Pathway to Peace - Basilian Fathers","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/basilian.org\/en\/ash-wednesday-almsgiving-as-a-pathway-to-peace\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Ash Wednesday: Almsgiving as a Pathway to Peace - Basilian Fathers","og_description":"The history of Ash Wednesday and Lent are seen as more solemn times during the Liturgical year, as during this time many Catholics give up things or activities in an […]","og_url":"https:\/\/basilian.org\/en\/ash-wednesday-almsgiving-as-a-pathway-to-peace\/","og_site_name":"Basilian Fathers","article_published_time":"2024-02-15T16:58:25+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-02-26T15:07:45+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1080,"height":1080,"url":"https:\/\/basilian.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/I-have-said-these-things-to-you-1.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Ilya Kovalevskiy","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Ilya Kovalevskiy","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/basilian.org\/en\/ash-wednesday-almsgiving-as-a-pathway-to-peace\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/basilian.org\/en\/ash-wednesday-almsgiving-as-a-pathway-to-peace\/"},"author":{"name":"Ilya Kovalevskiy","@id":"https:\/\/basilian.org\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/6e3c6386736ea490dbd112241a8874c1"},"headline":"Ash Wednesday: Almsgiving as a Pathway to Peace","datePublished":"2024-02-15T16:58:25+00:00","dateModified":"2024-02-26T15:07:45+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/basilian.org\/en\/ash-wednesday-almsgiving-as-a-pathway-to-peace\/"},"wordCount":619,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/basilian.org\/en\/#organization"},"articleSection":["General News"],"inLanguage":"en-CA"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/basilian.org\/en\/ash-wednesday-almsgiving-as-a-pathway-to-peace\/","url":"https:\/\/basilian.org\/en\/ash-wednesday-almsgiving-as-a-pathway-to-peace\/","name":"Ash Wednesday: Almsgiving as a Pathway to Peace - Basilian Fathers","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/basilian.org\/en\/#website"},"datePublished":"2024-02-15T16:58:25+00:00","dateModified":"2024-02-26T15:07:45+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/basilian.org\/en\/ash-wednesday-almsgiving-as-a-pathway-to-peace\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-CA","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/basilian.org\/en\/ash-wednesday-almsgiving-as-a-pathway-to-peace\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/basilian.org\/en\/ash-wednesday-almsgiving-as-a-pathway-to-peace\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/basilian.org\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Ash Wednesday: Almsgiving as a Pathway to Peace"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/basilian.org\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/basilian.org\/en\/","name":"Basilian Fathers","description":"Congregation of St. Basil","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/basilian.org\/en\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/basilian.org\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-CA"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/basilian.org\/en\/#organization","name":"Congregation of St. Basil","url":"https:\/\/basilian.org\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-CA","@id":"https:\/\/basilian.org\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/basilian.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/basilian-crest-new2.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/basilian.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/basilian-crest-new2.png","width":250,"height":250,"caption":"Congregation of St. Basil"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/basilian.org\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/basilian.org\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/6e3c6386736ea490dbd112241a8874c1","name":"Ilya Kovalevskiy","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-CA","@id":"https:\/\/basilian.org\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/da65155bbe88af2a5041b96031b1e26e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/da65155bbe88af2a5041b96031b1e26e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Ilya Kovalevskiy"},"url":"https:\/\/basilian.org\/en\/author\/ilya_csb\/"}]}},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/basilian.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/I-have-said-these-things-to-you-1.png",1080,1080,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/basilian.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/I-have-said-these-things-to-you-1-150x150.png",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/basilian.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/I-have-said-these-things-to-you-1-300x300.png",300,300,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/basilian.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/I-have-said-these-things-to-you-1-768x768.png",768,768,true],"large":["https:\/\/basilian.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/I-have-said-these-things-to-you-1-1024x1024.png",1024,1024,true],"wpbgallery_admin_thumb":["https:\/\/basilian.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/I-have-said-these-things-to-you-1-109x109.png",109,109,true],"wpbgallery_thumb":["https:\/\/basilian.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/I-have-said-these-things-to-you-1-200x200.png",200,200,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/basilian.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/I-have-said-these-things-to-you-1.png",1080,1080,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/basilian.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/I-have-said-these-things-to-you-1.png",1080,1080,false],"featured":["https:\/\/basilian.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/I-have-said-these-things-to-you-1-475x475.png",475,475,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Ilya Kovalevskiy","author_link":"https:\/\/basilian.org\/en\/author\/ilya_csb\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"The history of Ash Wednesday and Lent are seen as more solemn times during the Liturgical year, as during this time many Catholics give up things or activities in an […]","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/basilian.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10935"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/basilian.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/basilian.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/basilian.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/282"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/basilian.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10935"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/basilian.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10935\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10954,"href":"https:\/\/basilian.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10935\/revisions\/10954"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/basilian.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10938"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/basilian.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10935"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/basilian.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10935"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/basilian.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10935"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}