Dili, March 6, 2025 (Média Democracia) – The Archbishop of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Dili, Dom Virgílio Cardeal do Carmo da Silva in his Homily invited Catholics in this sacred time to pray, fast, and give alms, so that these three things can lead humans to know God and other humans to know themselves.
Dom Virgílio Cardeál do Carmo da Silva said that Ash Wednesday is like the loud sound of a buffalo horn, a sound that calls everyone to listen and fast in everyone’s life, a sound that invites to stop a little from everyday activities.
“Because we are often busy from morning to night, from Monday to Saturday, from the 1st to the 30th, from January to December, sometimes we are very busy, sometimes we don’t know where we will go after this movement,” Dom Virgílio Cardeál do Carmo da Silva said in his sermon.
The sound of the buffalo horn invites humans to think for a moment about the important things in this life, try not to follow something that our bodies want, therefore the sound of the buffalo horn is not only to call us but also to wake us up, if we are sleeping, not only to wake us up but to convey the message that the prophets said to return to God.
He said, when we call someone to come back, it means we are on the right path, we will continue to move forward.
“When we are called to return, as it says that either I am walking on another path or on the path I should be on, because in our journey of life we often lose our way, we lose our map, we lose our ultimate goal in life, so we can walk haphazardly,” Bishop said.
He said, Ash Wednesday is a time to return to the route or direction of life because it can be said that humans pay more attention to other things.
“But what is more valuable is how we try not to lose our meta of life, our fanaticism towards life, if we ask what the direction formula is, we are bored, we can say that the direction of my life map is about health, some think about career, some think about something that can be accumulated, something that can be used as a life formula, whether we like it or not, everything I do, I have to get this.” He added in his homily
Ash Wednesday has many beautiful things that make everyone focus especially as we get closer to receiving the ‘dust’ that is placed on the forehead.
“The ‘ashes’ placed on the forehead are a sign to remind us of the truth, to reveal to us a truth, what is the truth? You are arrogant with many things, you pursue many things from morning till night, but in the end what is left? You are tired of many things, but other things are not important, these things eventually become ‘ashes’ like dust blown by the wind, just disappearing.” He explained.
He said that all of those things, passengers, are temporary, today’s power we have tomorrow passes, today we are successful tomorrow it melts, because this power passes, success melts, sometimes living in a society that is based on culture, which is called appearance culture, something that other people see, something that goes viral.
Unfortunately, many people fall into temptation because of these things, what can we show? What can we see in others? This is a culture that can be said that whether we like it or not, these things are in everyone’s heart and life.
Often we are forced to do things that others do, something more, something that comes and goes, sometimes we also fall into things that are lies, a culture that lies to others, we compare it to light, when we burn something and the light is on everyone sees it but when it goes out what is left is only ‘dust’, it’s time for us to free ourselves from the illusion of living based on this ash.
Therefore, the ash Wednesday invite us to discover that humans are not dust, but fire whose light never goes out, continuing to shine to carry the world.
“God did not create us to return to the earth, ashes have no value, He created us for eternity, we do not belong to the earth but to heaven. We become free people, freedom, not slaves.” he added.
Ash Wednesday reminds people of situations that are essential and important for everyday life.
“Therefore, the Gospel that we hear, conveys three things to us, so that each of us as believers, each has a beautiful message, how we respond well to our deeds with a sincere heart, not pretending, charity, prayer, fasting, what are the benefits for us as believers.” He said.
Charity, Prayer and Fasting are related to human life in an eternal and continuous reality. Prayer connects humans with God and brings them closer to God. Charity brings humans closer to others. Fasting brings humans closer to knowing themselves, these three things are not new, this is the reality of life that is needed, every year continues to invite everyone to open their hearts to this reality.
Reported by : Estefania
Picture : From Social Media