On Ash Wednesday, Catholics urged to 'go back to the basics of life'

To mark the start of the 40-day Lenten period, Catholic devotees attending a Mass at the Manila Cathedral on Ash Wednesday were urged by a priest to "go back to the basics of life."

"The season of Lent is an invitation to go back to the basics. The ashes remind us of the basics of life," Fr. Reginald "Reggie" Malicdem said in his homily.

"Aalahanin mo na ika'y abo at sa abo ikaw ay babalik. The ashes remind us of the simplicity of our life. We all came from dust and we will all return to dust. Kahit anong yaman mo, kahit anong talino mo, kahit anong galing, kahit anong taas ang naabot mo, kahit anong kapangyarihan ang meron ka, alikabok ka lang. Nanggaling ka sa alabok, babalik ka sa alabok," Fr. Malicdem added.

Devotees all over the country trooped to churches on Wednesday to have ashes placed on their foreheads to follow tradition.

Malicdem also enumerated three things to remember in this season: "prayer, fasting and alms-giving."

"Prayer invites us to give time to silence and searching. Sa ingay ng buhay, sa dami ng gulo na kinakaharap araw-araw, sa dami ng bagay na tumatakbo sa ating isip o nagpapabagabag sa ating buhay, prayer invites us to be silent. Stay with God and be silent. Go back to the basic. Commune with God and you will discover simpler life," Malicdem said.

"Fasting also calls us to discipline of life. Fasting invites us to discover what we really need and to distinguish what we need from the things that we just want. Fasting leads us to discover the things that we can live without—'yung mga bagay sa buhay na akala natin mamatay tayo kapag wala, something very basic. Pwede naman palang bawasan, pwede naman palang mawala na kahit isang araw," he added.

"And this is just an invitation to all of us. What are the things that you can live without?"

Malicdem said the imposition of ashes on one's forehead "is a sign that should remind us to reflect and to think deeply. It is a sign that calls us, that invites us." —KG, GMA News