Who got their ashes today?!

I enjoyed the priest's homily. He spoke about Matthew 6:
“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.

2 “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you."

He talked about the importance of fasting, praying and alms giving and that Jesus spoke about "when you fast..." not, "if you fast." He related some of that to how God wants obedience from us and that we should work on that during Lent. It's not just about sacrifice. He said God cares more about obedience than sacrifice. Lent is not about some reward you get because you gave something up that was challenging. Instead, the priest encouraged us to grow our hearts during Lent. To love one another and love God.