Ash Wednesday
Lent is upon us. This day we recall the fact that we are sinners and need conversion. In the Church ritual today, we are marked with the sign of the cross on our forehead using ashes. This cross recalls the sign of the cross we received on our forehead at baptism. That original cross claimed us for Christ, and began our journey as members in the Body of Christ. Today’s cross is penitential in nature and reminds us both of our own sinfulness, as well as our need for conversion.
In the first reading, the prophet Joel speaks of God’s call to a change of heart. God asks the Israelites and us to return to Him with our whole heart. Certainly rending ones garment was an outward sign of penitence; in the same way the ashes are that mark our foreheads. But God wants more than an outward sign, “Rend your hearts not your garments.” Often we are more concerned with outward appearances. We certainly live in a culture where image is everything. God want our hearts reoriented toward God alone.
A change of heart comes in many ways and takes many forms, however the change of heart God is looking for is our conversion. This conversion will lead us back to the Lord. It is no accident then that much of the trauma in our lives calls us to return to the Lord. While God does not cause the suffering, he allows the pain in order for us to remember who is in charge of our life. Suffering rends our hearts. This broken heart is best healed by the love of the Lord.
Jesus, in the gospel, gives us a process with three practical ways that can help us heal. They are our Lenten disciplines of prayer, fasting and almsgiving. As Catholic Christians, these ancient spiritual practices have become synonymous with Lent, yet they can be used anytime to help us connect our own sacrifices with the ultimate sacrifice that Jesus made for us. These sacrifices work to remind us that God is God and we are not. Once we reorder our life placing God first, then our reoriented hearts can fully heal.
Lord, as we begin this Lenten season, help us to rend our hearts unto You, so that through our spiritual disciplines our hearts will be converted to You who is our Lord and Savior. Amen.
- Michael Montgomery