FAILING TO recognize God’s blessings and graces leads to ingratitude, and eventually greed and corruption, Santísimo Rosario Parish Priest Fr. Glen Mar Gamboa, O.P. stressed during Ash Wednesday Mass at Plaza Mayor on Feb. 18.
For Gamboa, ingratitude distorts one’s sense of contentment and can lead a person to desire more than what is just, even at the expense of others.
“Kapag tayo ay punong-puno ng pagbibilang ng mga kulang sa atin, mas lalo tayong mang-aangkin ng hindi sa atin. Magiging ganid ka pa para kumuha sa kaban ng iba, sa pinaghirapan nila. Hindi ka kasi nagpapasalamat,” Gamboa said in his homily.
“Meron ka na ngang sapat na pera, hindi ka pa nakuntento, hindi ka pa rin nagpapasalamat,” Gamboa added.
Reflecting on the practice of imposition of ashes on the forehead, Gamboa said the cross should not only remind Catholics of death, but also of the grace that God has already given them in life.
“Tayo’y mula sa alikabok at tayo’y babalik din sa alikabok. Waring sinasabing, mamamatay ka rin… Pero sana bago po tayo mamamatay, makita po natin kung anong pinapaalala sa atin: ‘yung grasya at biyaya ng Diyos habang tayo’y nabubuhay,” he added.
The Dominican priest clarified that practicing the three pillars of Lent: prayer, fasting and almsgiving, must come from gratitude, not mere obligation or self-denial.
“It is not about what you have given up, pero kung ano ‘yung iyong binigay, dahil ikaw ay punong-puno ng biyaya,” he said.
He also warned Thomasians against measuring holiness by external practices alone, saying fasting, going to church, or completing devotions do not automatically make a person holy.
“Magsasakripisyo ka dahil natuto kang magpasalamat. At ‘yun po ang magpapabanal sa atin,” he said.
Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the 40-day season of Lent, a period of preparation before the Paschal Triduum, the central point in the Catholic faith, commemorating the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
