������ý

To mark Ash Wednesday, students, faculty, and families at Thomas Aquinas ������ý’s two campuses gathered for Mass and to receive their ashes.

In Our Mother of Perpetual Help Chapel on the New England campus, Head Chaplain Rev. Greg Markey cited a homily by St. Augustine on Matthew 6:16-21, particularly Our Lord’s admonition to “not look dismal” when fasting. “Pride can be found not only in gaudiness and show of things pertaining to the body, but also in gloominess,” he said. “The danger lies in the deception, under the name of serving God.”

Fr. Markey went on to give an analogy of wolves in sheep’s clothing, warning against pretenders. He pointed out that the cross of ashes borne on the forehead of a Catholic is a symbol of men’s mortality, serving to remind them of their sins, not to be worn as a symbol of pride. “A Christian should not try to delight the eyes of men by superfluous ornament on this account, because pretenders, too, may assume the same frugal appearance in order to deceive those not on their guard,” he said. “Those sheep should not lay aside their own skins, for the wolves may attempt to cover themselves with them.”