On Ash Wednesday our Church invites us to first read and reflect on a passage from the book of the prophet Isaiah (58:1-12) entitled "Concerning fasting that pleases God". Our treasure, which follows, is from a letter to the Corinthians by Saint Clement, pope.
Catholics celebrate Ash Wednesday as the beginning of Lent, a 40-day period of prayer, fasting, and repentance leading up to Easter, which commemorates the Resurrection of Christ. The ashes symbolize mourning and repentance, reflecting biblical practices. By receiving ashes, Catholics express sorrow for their sins and acknowledge Christ's suffering on the cross. This day marks a time of spiritual discipline, aligning with Christ's 40 days in the desert. Ash Wednesday is a highly attended day in the Catholic Church, welcoming all to receive ashes as a sign of repentance and a step towards deeper faith.
Saint Clement of Rome was the third successor of Saint Peter, reigning as pope during the last decade of the first century. He's known as one of the Church's five "Apostolic Fathers," those who provided a direct link between the Apostles and later generations of Church Fathers.
Clement's First Epistle to the Corinthians was preserved and widely read in the early Church. This letter from the bishop of Rome to the Church in Corinth concerns a split that alienated a large number of the laity from the clergy. Deploring the unauthorized and unjustifiable division in the Corinthian community, Clement urged charity to heal the rift.
The Book of Isaiah presents the prophetic voice of Isaiah son of Amoz, who speaks to Judah and Jerusalem during times of moral decline, political threat, and spiritual complacency, calling God's people back to covenant faithfulness. Isaiah proclaims that the Holy One of Israel is both just and merciful: He condemns sin, hypocrisy, and social injustice, yet constantly offers repentance, restoration, and hope. Central to the book is the promise that God will act decisively to save His people—not merely through political deliverance, but through a deeper redemption of the heart—culminating in the vision of a coming Messiah, the Suffering Servant, who will bring light to the nations. Isaiah thus holds together judgment and consolation, warning that pride leads to ruin while trust in the Lord leads to peace and revealing a God who remains faithful to His promises and intends salvation for all peoples.
Isaiah, one of the greatest of the prophets, appeared at a critical moment in Israel's history. The Northern Kingdom collapsed, under the hammerlike blows of Assyria, in 722/721 B.C., and in 701 Jerusalem itself saw the army of Sennacherib drawn up before its walls. In the year that Uzziah, king of Judah, died, Isaiah received his call to the prophetic office in the Temple of Jerusalem. Close attention should be given to chapter six, where this divine summons to be the ambassador of the Most High is circumstantially described.
The vision of the Lord enthroned in glory stamps an indelible character on Isaiah's ministry and provides a key to the understanding of his message. The majesty, holiness and glory of the Lord took possession of his spirit and, at the same time, he gained a new awareness of human pettiness and sinfulness. The enormous abyss between God's sovereign holiness and human sinfulness overwhelmed the prophet. Only the purifying coal of the seraphim could cleanse his lips and prepare him for acceptance of the call: "Here I am, send me!"
The ministry of Isaiah extended from the death of Uzziah in 742 B.C. to Sennacherib's siege of Jerusalem in 701 B.C., and it may have continued even longer, until after the death of Hezekiah in 687 B.C. Later legend (the Martyrdom and Ascension of Isaiah) claims that Hezekiah's son, Manasseh, executed Isaiah by having him sawed in two. During this long ministry, the prophet returned again and again to the same themes, and there are indications that he may have sometimes re-edited his older prophecies to fit new occasions.
