Catholic Anchor Online EDITORIAL: Lent is a time to walk in 'ever growing strength’

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By JOEL DAVIDSON

CatholicAnchor.org

On March 9, Catholics will again appear with gritty ashen crosses etched across their foreheads.

On Ash Wednesday, as millions of men and women solemnly process toward altars across the world, priests will dip their fingers into bowls, trace the cross and declare, “ You are dust and to dust you shall return,” or “Turn away from sin and embrace the Gospel.”

Heavy and challenging words. Yet they mean to elevate human life and inspire a great sense of purpose in hearts that were made for eternity.

In a world that is forgetting its sense of sin, ashes are an ancient symbol of penance and mourning for transgressions against the designs of God. They are also a reminder that this time on earth is quickly passing and only through the cross can this brief pilgrimage be redeemed.

The beauty and the gift of Christ’s Holy Catholic Church shine in a special way during the 40-day Lenten march to Easter. During this liturgical season, the church helps to illuminate the only path out of our weak and compromised state.

Of course, this way of the cross is not easy. It requires suffering, self-denial and great humility. Yet, it is also a path, so to speak, within walking distance.

The Psalmist reminds us that those who dare tread this narrow road will “walk with ever growing strength.”

Sometimes, it may be easy to fall into the belief that holiness is only for the few — the extraordinary Mother Teresas among us. But even the blessed nun from Calcutta disagrees.

“Jesus wants us to be holy as His Father is holy,” Mother Teresa said in 1997, the year of her death. “Holiness is not the luxury of the few, but a simple duty for you and for me.”

In other words, the journey toward ever-greater holiness and freedom in Christ is natural for mankind. It has been said that human beings are the kinds of creatures that are equipped to undergo a radical conversion. Like caterpillars, we are born to one day fly in splendor. If we do not, then we remain in an unnatural state, far below our original design and purpose.

In order to set out on this journey, we must lean heavily on the grace of God. He shows the way, braces our step and lifts us when we fall. But we must also employ our whole heart, soul and strength — our wills must work with God’s.

Each year during Lent, the Catholic Church offers assistance on this pathway to conversion. We are reminded that prayer, fasting and almsgiving are indispensable for the journey.

We do not undertake these practices for their own sake, or simply to fulfill annual Lenten obligations. Rather, we pray, fast and give of ourselves as part of the conversion process.

This takes a lifetime and the changes usually occur in simple ways, often unseen, as God refigures us into his image and likeness.

At the conclusion of his 2010 Ash Wednesday homily, Pope Benedict XVI reminded the faithful, “Lent lengthens our horizon, it orients us to eternal life. On this earth we are on pilgrimage, ‘[f]or here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city which is to come,’ says the Letter to the Hebrews (Hebrews 13:14).”

As we begin this journey to Easter, let us embark with ashes — submitting our head to the reproach of the cross.

Pope Benedict explained that the penitential ashes are “essentially a gesture of humility, which means: I recognize myself for what I am, a frail creature, made of earth and destined to the earth, but also made in the image of God and destined to him. Dust, yes, but loved, molded by love, animated by his vital breath, capable of recognizing his voice and of responding to him…”

Below are two Web site that provide ideas for how to more fully participate in Lent.

* usccb.org/lent

* ewtn.com/faith/lent/fast.htm

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