ASH WEDNESDAY should not be about sadness and does not need to clash with the celebration of Valentine’s Day since it centers on the love of Jesus who offered his life to save humanity, a Dominican priest said.
In his homily during the university-wide Ash Wednesday mass, UST Vice Rector for Religious Affairs Fr. Pablo Tiong, O.P. said devotees should not be sad even if the observance is about sorrow for their sins.
“This is actually one of the best things that can happen for Valentine’s Day, and yet, beyond Valentine’s Day, far, far more important is the message of Ash Wednesday. This is not about being sad so we can be happy on Easter,” Tiong told members of the Thomasian community at the Plaza Mayor.
“Even Ash Wednesday is not about sadness… Even Good Friday in the Liturgy is labeled as a celebration of the Lord’s passion and death. What are we celebrating? We should not be sad…Actually, there is no conflict at all. In fact, the message is, ‘We take care of the heart. A heart that comes from God.’”
Tiong noted that the next Valentine’s Day to be celebrated on the same day as Ash Wednesday would be in 2029.
“That would be another beautiful day. The next one would be in 2170. One hundred forty years later, Ash Wednesday would fall on February 14 again. But it’s a happy coincidence because the heart, we symbolize it this way now,” he said.
According to Tiong, Jesus’ invitation for His followers to return to Him wholeheartedly “purifies” Valentine’s Day.
“We want a heart that symbolizes Valentine’s Day to be close to God. That it is, first of all, a heart that follows Jesus. It is, first of all, a heart that loves God and loves thy neighbor,” he added.
Tiong reminded Thomasians that repenting means following Jesus and taking away things that prevent one from catching up with Him.
“And for that reason, Lent is sorrowful but it is not sad because we are trying to follow Jesus. In fact, it is a joyful journey. And when we say– remember, that you are dust and to dust you shall return– it is a reminder that our hearts, in all humility in front of God, our hearts need God,” he said.
“And so, what a beautiful Valentine’s Day not commercialized, not secularized but it goes back to the message that really, we begin Ash Wednesday in prayer, in humility, in fasting and in good works, we follow Jesus.”
Ash Wednesday is the start of the Lenten season, which ends on Holy Thursday. During the observance, ashes are placed on the foreheads of devotees to remind them of their mortality and to emphasize the importance of repentance and believing in the Gospel. F – report from M.N.Z. Serrano
