The Ashes of A Special Wednesday

The Missionaries of the Sacred Heart USA Province305 S. Lake Street, PO Box 270 Aurora, IL 60507 (630) 892-2371 info@misacor-usa.org

By. Fr. David Foxen, MSC

The Ashes of A Special Wednesday

The season of Lent has many shades of

meaning.

Traditionally it is a time when we deal with our humanity and sinfulness,

not as a sin of hopeless weakness

but as a call to healing and new life.

Lent calls us to recall our own baptism as we walk with those preparing for baptism at the

Easter Vigil.

Whatever our emphasis, Lent is

not a time for triviality but for

coming into contact with the deeper themes of our Faith in Jesus Christ as

Savior and Redeemer.

For some Lent seems to retain only the

memory of childhood when giving up candy or some hours of TV made it more a time of self discipline than an encounter with the

realities of sin and new life.

Most of our childhood memories, which had a definite

role to play at the time, have given way

to deeper understandings in

our adult lives.

While at times it is good and wholesome to return to the memories of a time when we

were just discovering the complex world that surrounded us, we need to recognize

the depth that Lent offers us today.

The ashes are a symbol, not the

reality.

If they remain only at the level of symbol, and one too often

without substance and meaning, we are

depriving ourselves of a genuine spiritual

experience that calls us to new understanding,

growth, and hope.

On Ash Wednesday, when we catch a

glimpse of ourselves in the

mirror or of family and friends

with their smudge,

will we see a symbol calling us back to our human reality

and even mortality?

Will we see a symbol of Christ’s voice, calling us to

set aside our pessimism and

hopeless feelings to let the words

of the Good News break through?

Will we see a symbol of

renewed life in the Risen Lord

which transforms us as individuals

and us as Church?

I hope so and wish all of you a blessed and life-giving Lenten season.

We hope you enjoyed this reflection,excerpted from the Living Faith article Ashes of a Special Wednesday.

If you would like to read other articles byFr. David Foxen, MSC, please visit the Living Faith page on our website. Commentswelcome! www.faith.misacor-usa.org

The Missionaries of the Sacred Heart USA Province305 S. Lake Street, PO Box 270 Aurora, IL 60507 (630) 892-2371 info@misacor-usa.org

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