Blessed Sacrament Families,
In a few short days, our Catholic Church will begin the Lenten season with Ash Wednesday. Catholics around the world will begin this journey toward Easter with the symbol of the cross on their foreheads. Those of us who are familiar with Ash Wednesday know the routine. The priest calls us forward, uses the earthen dust, and makes a cross on our forehead as he reminds us of those words from Genesis: “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” For a brief moment, we are not only symbolically reminded about our future, but we are humbled as we hear those words, “…and to dust you shall return.” As we leave church, we begin examining how we can grow closer to God over the course of 40 days through prayer, almsgiving, and fasting.
Fortunately, our Church offers an alternative when receiving ashes. The priest or layperson may say, “Repent and believe in the Gospel.” While both sayings have the same goal, this one seems to reach us a little more gently, reminding us that we still have a chance to make things right. It is a call for us to experience the healing grace of forgiveness and a recommitment to following Jesus’ message of loving God and our neighbor. While it does not diminish our mortality, it reminds us that there is still time for us to make things right.
The classic story that reflects “Repent and believe in the Gospel” is the Parable of the Prodigal Son. In short, a man has two sons. One remains obedient to his father and understands that his reward will come in the future. The other, however, decides to claim his inheritance and explore life away from his father’s house. After the money runs out, he finds himself working jobs that no one else wants, eventually tending swine. He reflects that his father’s servants, on any given day, have more than he does. He decides to return home but anxiously contemplates his father’s response. Just as he is nearing the house, his father catches sight of him and immediately runs out to him, crying tears of joy and giving thanks to God, for the son who was lost has now returned to life. Meanwhile, the son who remained obedient becomes angry because his father is throwing a party for his brother, who acted irresponsibly. Understanding his son’s anger, the father explains the importance of celebrating his brother’s return because he was lost and now is found.
Each of us, from the youngest in our community to the oldest, plays a role in the parable at some point in our lives. We are the older son who feels angry and betrayed because we have been following the rules, and it seems like those who don’t are rewarded. We are the younger son who forgets how good we have it and storms off, forgetting that sometimes patience is needed. At other times, we are the father, trying to balance the two sons in our lives, whether in our personal or professional relationships.
With this in mind, I have selected Arise and Go: A Journey Back to Love as our Lenten theme at Blessed Sacrament. Like the younger son, we must admit our shortcomings, go through the process of forgiveness, whether we are seeking it or offering it, and actively return to God.
We live in a troubled world. While I am grateful that I did not grow up in these times, I am equally grateful that I can stand before our students as an adult who models the power of transformation through forgiveness and love.
It is easy to say “sorry” to someone we have hurt or offended. But that alone is not what God is calling us to do. He calls us to sincerely recognize our sins, seek and extend forgiveness, and return fully to His love. And when we do, when we truly repent and turn back to Him, He rejoices, for we were lost and now we are found.
So let us approach Ash Wednesday a little differently this year. When we are marked with the ashes, and we hear that familiar line, “Repent and believe in the Gospel”, let us walk back to our pew with the words, “Arise and Go” planted in our hearts.
I pray that your Lenten journey is filled with equal doses of grace and mercy.
In service to the Incarnate Word and Blessed Sacrament,
Michael Fierro
Principal