St Paul greets us with these words today that set the tone for the holy season of Lent: “Behold, now is a very acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” Lent indeed is a favorable and acceptable time to us to return to what is essential and fundamental in our faith: to cast off what is weighing us down, to reconcile with God, and to rekindle the presence of the Holy Spirit within us. Lent is a season of grace where we return to God with all our whole heart, heading the call of the prophet Joel in our first reading today.
We begin our Lenten journey today by receiving a smudge of ashes on our forehead. The ashes remind us who we are and from where we come. The ashes remind of the essential truth of our lives here on earth: that the Lord alone is God and we are the work of his hands. Lent is a time for us to proclaim God as the center of our lives, the leave behind the pretense that we are self-sufficient and that we are in control.
The ashes of Lent invite us to look at our relationship with God and with our brothers and sisters. Lent is a season of grace when we can rebuild our relationship with God and with others, looking at where we need to forgive and reconcile as we open our hearts in the silence of prayer.
Our ashes today call us to the Lenten disciplines of prayer, fasting, and acts of charity. Reflecting Jesus’ message in the Gospel today, these Lenten disciplines are not to be merely external rites; they are to reflect the joy and renewal of our hearts at work during these holy days. Through our Lenten prayers, we are to have a truthful, loving dialogue with God the Father. Through our fasting, through giving things up, we remind ourselves what truly matters in life and to what is merely ephemeral. Our Lenten acts of charity and mercy are not to be hasty and superficial, but rather to touch the needs and sufferings of others and to reach out to others with our hands and our hearts.
Let us open our hearts today to the grace of God at work in us during this holy season of Lent. Let us fix our eyes on the cross of Christ and on his journey through the desert as we respond with generous hearts to the Church’s invitation for us to accompany Jesus on his journey. We hope that at the end of our Lenten journey, we will encounter with joy and love the Lord of life on the day of his resurrection. Jesus is the one who can help us rise from the ashes.
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