Ash Wednesday--The Beginning of Lent

"Remember that you are dust and unto dust you shall return." We get ashes on our foreheads, in our eyes, and on our clothes! Furthermore, we don't wash it off all day! Sounds kind of creepy! So why do we do it? Ashes are an ancient symbol of mourning and repentance. In the Bible, we hear it used, along with sackcloth, which is like burlap, as a means of appealing to God for forgiveness.

In the Book of Jonah, Jonah reluctantly preaches to the Ninevites, his hated enemy: "'Forty days more and Nineveh shall be overthrown,' the people of Nineveh believed God; they proclaimed a fast and all of them, great and small, put on sackcloth. When the news reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, laid aside his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes" (Jon. 3:4-6).

Thus, it became the custom to use sackcloth and ashes as an outward sign of inward repentance. For us today it is a sacramental, which calls us to remember our sins that we may repent and be reconciled to God. We are also called to remember that we are mortal, that this world is not the end-all and be-all of our existence. Our lives on earth are meant to cultivate friendship with God that we may return to him at our deaths.

The gospel on Ash Wednesday calls us to a deeper relationship by pointing out that we need to go beyond the wearing of ashes: "Take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them; otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father" (Mt. 6:1). This means we need to wear ashes ON OUR HEARTS as well! Thus, another formula for receiving ashes is, "Repent and believe in the gospel."

March 24--St. Catherine of Genoa, Holy Woman

Confession is good for the soul!  This is absolutely true and today's saint demonstrates even more the benefits and power of the confessional.  St. Catherine of Genoa married at the age of 16 and spent ten years in a difficult marriage.  One day she went to confession and experience God's love for her.  This led her to receiving communion daily, which was extremely rare in those days, and service in a hospital.  Her husband, being changed from his ways, joined her in serving in the hospital.  Because his spending had left them without money, they lived and served together in the hospital for another 24 years until he died.  He had become a third order Franciscan.  She continued to serve there until her death in 1510.

It was confession that turned St. Catherine's life around.  During Lent it is good for us to remember that Jesus is calling us to repentance.  We may not need to turn 180 degrees to come back to Jesus, but we are always in need of metanoia, which means to change one's life.  Priests love to help penitents to amend their lives so that they may experience God's mercy.  Sometimes people are afraid of confession because it has been a long time.  Sometimes they are afraid because of what the "priest might think."  Confessors want us to be reconciled to God, others, and even ourselves.  We hear in the song "Hosea" that God is calling to us:  "Come back to me, with all your heart.  Don't let fear keep us apart.  Long have I waited for your coming home to me and living deeply our new life."  Have a soul-changing experience as St. Catherine did.