Ash Wednesday
A Self-Directed Reflection from
The St. Joseph Retreat Center
with Anne Louis De Palo

As we prepare for Easter, the St. Joseph Retreat Center will be sharing weekly reflections during Lent. Thank you for joining us on this journey. We look forward to hearing from you in this time of fasting and reflection.

A PERFECT LENT?

           Lent begins today. Every Lent, I feel a certain amount of pressure to "get Lent right." As I hear the priests say, "Remember that you are dust, and to dust shall you return," the reality of death hits hard. I think as I get older, it hits even harder. Even the alternative phrase, "Repent and believe in the Gospel," is also a wake-up call. I ask myself, “Do I believe and live the Gospel?” 

The prophet, Joel, in the first reading today tells us, "Return to the Lord, your God." Joel 2 :13. This in essence is the purpose of Lent.  How wonderful is our faith, that it celebrates the liturgical seasons. There is a time to feast, a time to fast, a time to repent, a time to sacrifice and do penance, and a time to celebrate. Lent is a penitential season and prepares us for Easter and eternal life. Lent helps us grow spiritually. It is a time to reflect on the state of our souls.to take time to be with God. Pope Benedict perhaps put it perfectly when he said, "Lent gives us the opportunity to get away from the heathenism of the world that weighs us down."

As we go about our days we can fall into a rut, doing our daily routines without much thought or purpose, and almost fall into a trancelike state losing God and our souls in the process. Lent attempts to wake us up from our slumber. As we open our eyes ask, “Where am I sleeping in my spiritual life?

We are asked during Lent to meditate on the following: “Where am I in my walk with Christ?” Can I respond with confidence as Saint Francis of Assisi did when asked what he would do if he knew he was going to die this day and say, "I would do exactly as I am doing right now?" 

           The pillars of Lent: prayer, fasting, and alms giving are spiritual practices to bring us closer to Christ. Sacrifice comes from the word “sacer” and “facer” which means offering something to God and to make it holy. The Lenten practices are the means for our hearts to become open to grace and be guided by the Holy Spirit to be transformed and renewed.

 The readings before Lent were from Genesis. The story of Noah, particularly Genesis 8 resonated with me. God tells Noah to build an ark to get away from the wickedness of the world and to be saved from the rising waters. During that entire time, Noah waited, listened, and surrendered to God. After ten months, Noah saw the mountaintops, trusting that the flood waters were receding. After another 40 days and 40 nights he waited, and then he opened the hatch of the ark.       

 After the waters receded, a dove was sent out. The dove first came back with an olive branch in its mouth, and Noah had hope. After that, he sent the dove out again, and this time, the dove did not come back. It was time. When Noah was told by God to leave the ark, he built an altar, thanked and worshipped the Lord and rededicated his life to God.

Lent calls us to go into the ark of the Church and our own inner sanctuary during these 40 days, away from worldly allurements and to commune with God. It gives us a chance to die to self and see where we need to rededicate our lives to Christ in preparation of Resurrection and eternal life.

           When Easter comes, we renew our baptismal promises, and we too go forth like Noah to build the kingdom with the aid of the Holy Spirit. No, there is no such thing as a perfect Lent. Through prayer, fasting and almsgiving, I pray to grow in perfection and closer to Christ knowing it only by His grace that I can become one with Him.