Be sure that you first preach by the way you live. If you do not people will notice that you say one thing, but live otherwise, and your words will bring only cynical laughter and a derisive shake of the head. ~~St. Charles Borromeo
Lent – 2012A Journey to the Light of ChristMy dear Providence Associates, Candidate-Associates and Companions,A few years ago I sat in my office having just unlocked the church and school doors. I heard the slamming of car doors more than usual as women and men dashed out of their cars to get into the Church for the 6:30 AM Mass. It was still very dark outside and I heard the voices say, “I am here for the Ashes – what time do they give them out?” The school parking lot was full throughout the day, another Mass and more Ashes were given to the individuals, followed by two more prayer services where everyone received their Ashes and the phone constantly kept ringing and the voices would say, “What time will Ashes be given today?”Yes, that is the exterior sign of Ash Wednesday! But what about our interior, what about our heart and soul, can we calm our mind down to simply Be Still and Listen? That is the challenge for me this Lent! It would be much easier to go to the desert filled with quiet, filled with solitude and simply wait to hear what God has to say to us. Wouldn’t it be nice if life were that easy?Most of us do not live in the desert; we live in the middle of the chaos of busyness, noise, running to this meeting, hurrying up to make dinner, going off to work, carrying for children, carrying for parents, carrying for a loved one and it just doesn’t stop.As this Ash Wednesday approaches, perhaps we can take a little time to think of ourselves, to think of the sacred vessel that Christ has made us to be. Think of the interior gifts that lie deep within each of us. As each day begins, take something positive from within yourself – in your running make time to see your beauty. Name it and thank God for that wonderful gift. As each day passes by, Lent comes to the glorious moment of the new light and new life we see within each of us. We will truly be the sacred vessel Christ made us to BE.I don’t sit in that office anymore – you all know where I am today! It is not about the exterior we long to see – it is the interior, the real humanity that Christ himself took on to show us the way. Our own St. Mother Theodore did not have time to sit in the desert; she plowed through the dense forest of the unknown, just as we plow through our busy days of the unknown. Let us open our hearts and souls to these days of Lent and honor and recognize the beautiful gifts that Christ has given us. On Easter morning there will be a transformation within you.Together, let us hold one another in prayer as we walk these 40 days of seeking the positive within ourselves. Please know that Debbie Dillow, PA and I will be walking with each of you as together we seek the brightness within each of us. What an Awesome Gift!In God’s Providence,
I turned to the Lord God,
pleading in earnest prayer,
with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes.
~Daniel 9:3~The use of ashes as a sign of penitence and remorse is rooted in Jewish tradition.
This Jewish penitential practice carried over into Christianity. In one early Church custom dating back to the fourth century, those who had committed serious sin would present themselves to their bishop on Ash Wednesday, and would then spend the rest of Lent wearing the hair shirt as a public display of sinfulness.
The Ash Wednesday custom of placing ashes on the forehead became universal in the 11th century. In the 12th century, the practice began of burning the palm branches of the previous year to make the ashes.
After the 16th century Reformation , most Protestant churches did away with this custom, along with many other external practices of the Catholic Church. However, in recent decades, Lutheran Presbyterian Methodist, and Episcopal churches have reinstated the use of ashes as part of their liturgical renewal.
~~The Little Black Book~~
