Weekly HOMILY for February 25, 2007: Super Size Me

Ash Wednesday, Cycle C
Our Lady of Grace
February 21, 2007

Super-Size Me
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato


Super-Size Me

This past year, I saw a movie called Super Size Me.

This movie is a documentary done by a man named Morgan Spurlock. For a full month, Spurlock ate nothing but junk food.

He consumed three fast-food meals a day at McDonalds or other fast-food restaurants. Whenever the server asked Spurlock if he wanted to super-size his order, he always said yes.

So whenever he was asked, he always got the extra-big hamburger or order of fries or coke or milkshake, whatever it was. And what do you think happened to Morgan Spurlock?

In one month, he gained twenty-five pounds and really fouled up his health. His blood sugar went way up and he developed intestinal and, I think, even some heart troubles.

Morgan Spurlock illustrated how choosing fast and easy food can hurt us. He illustrated how this is a failure to take responsibility for our bodily health.


Responsibility for Spiritual Health

The season of Lent that we begin today reminds us to take responsibility for our spiritual health.

The ashes that we use today are a powerful symbol of this. Unlike Morgan Spurlock who ate junk food and did not care for his physical health, the ashes remind us to take care of our spiritual health in two ways.


Lenten Responsibility

First, the ashes remind us that we come from God.

The Book of Genesis says that God breathed life into the dust of the earth and formed us from this. So, the ashes remind us that we have come from God and someday we will return to God.

Because of this, we are called to some special prayer during Lent. Jesus in today’s gospel calls us to pray not to be seen, but to pray from our hearts so as to grow closer to God.

Maybe we can just make sure that we pray in some way every day during Lent, like when we get out of bed in the morning, or maybe we can come to Stations of the Cross sometime during Lent or come to weekday Mass once a week. The ashes remind us that we come from God and they call us to grow in our relationship with God.

And second, the ashes remind us that we are part of God’s family.

We are signed with ashes much as we are signed with the holy oil when we are baptized and confirmed and made part of God’s family. And so, the ashes remind us that we part of God’s family and need to be repent for not respecting and caring for one another.

I think this is why we are called to do some fasting during Lent. The Church asks all of us Catholics together not to eat meat today and on all the Fridays of Lent, and also to eat only one full meal today and on Good Friday.

That is fasting – watching what we eat. We could also choose to do some personal fasting, like giving up desserts or candy.

This fasting from food leads us to think about the behaviors that we need to fast from, like picking on a classmate or gossiping or not helping poor people who are in need. So, the ashes remind us that we are part of God’s family and to repent for not respecting and caring for one another.


Conclusion

So, the ashes remind us (1) that we come from God and need to grow in our relationship with God, and (2) that we are part of God’s family and need to repent of not respecting and caring for God’s family.

If we do these things, we are caring for our spiritual health, unlike the guy who ate fast food three times a day for an entire month. With these thoughts, we now bless and receive the ashes.